ytc^t  t^Tf, 


3 


-£ 


J/ 


THEOLOGICAL    SEMINARY, 
Princeton,  N.  J. 


j         Case,  ^.;  S&l 


t)         7>V>r>/.-, 


Sectioi 


» j  *  Aii^--^4^3*trw> 


5/ 


SERMONS 


on 


VARIOUS  SUBJECTS. 


SERMONS 


ON 


VARIOUS  SUBJECTS. 


B* 


HENRY  KOLLOCK,  D.  D. 

2A9TOR  OF   THE   FIRST    PRESBYTERIAN   CHURCH   IN   SAVANNAH 


SAVANNAH: 


PRINTED   AND    PUBLISHED    BY   SEYMOUR    AND   WILLIAMS, 

AND    SOLD  BY    E.    MORFORD,   WILLINGTON    AND    CO. 

CHARLESTON  ;  B.  B.  HOPKINS  AND  CO.  PHILA.D. 

AND   M.    AND    W.    WARD,   NEW-YORK. 

1811. 


B' 


District  of  Georgia. 

I E  it  remembered,  that  on  the  fourteenth  day  of  April,  one 
thousand  eight  hundred  and  eleven,  and  in  the  thirty-fifth 
year  of  the  Independence  of  the  United  States  of  America, 
Seymour  &  Williams,  of  Savannah,  in  said  District,  have  de- 
posited in  this  office  the  title  of  a  Book,  the  right  whereof 
they  claim  as  Proprietor*,  in  the  words  following,  to  wit : 
■f  Sermons  on  Various  Subjects,  by  Henry  Kollock,  D.  D.  Pastor  of 
"  the  first  Presbyterian  Church  in  Savannah." 

In  conformity  to  the  Act  of  the  United  States,  entitled  "  An  Act 
M  for  the  encouragement  of  learning,  by  securing  the  copies  of  Maps, 
"  Charts,  and  Books,  to  the  Authors  and  Proprietors  of  such  copies 
"  during  the  times  therein  mentioned." 

RICHARD  M.  STITES,  Clerk. 


TO  MY 

6ELOVED  CONGREGATION  IN  SAVANNAH, 

THESE  SERMONS 

ARE    DEDICATED, 

AS    A    SMALL     TOKEN    OF    GRATITUDE 

FOR   THAT   UNIFORM 

KINDNESS  and  BENEVOLENCE, 

WHICH   THEY   HAVE    EVER    DISPLAYED 

TO   THEIR   ATTACHED    PASTOR, 

JIENRY  KOLLOCK. 


THE  ensuing  Sermons  were  written  with- 
out the  remotest  thought  of  publication.  They 
have  been  printed  amidst  the  pressure  of  pa- 
rochial occupations,  which  almost  prevented 
even  a  revision  of  them.  They  are  now  cast 
as  a  small  mite  into  the  treasury  of  God.  The 
numberless  defects  in  tiiem  I  fully  perceive ; 
and  in  looking  over  them,  I  humble  myself 
before  God  that  I  have  not  more  earnestly 
warned  the  impenitent  and  more  zealously  an- 
imated the  believer.  If  there  are  any  errors 
in  doctrine,  they  are  involuntary,  and  I  trust 
the  Lord  will  forgive  them.  Reader,  instead 
of  criticising,  unite  with  me  in  praying  that 
these  discourses  may  be  blessed  to  your,  soul 
and  mine. 


\  »"" .— •• «    iff 

PH.',  ;0U 


■LOG' 


CONTENTS. 


SERMON  I. 

Christian  Education, 
Ephesians  vi.  4.     "  And,   ye  fathers,  provoke  not  your 
children  to  wrath  ;  but  bring  them  up  in   the  nurture 
and  admonition  of  the  Lord." Page  1 

SERMON  II. 

Christian  Education. 
Ephesians  vi-  4 *     .     .     la 

SERMON  III. 

Early  Piety. 
3  Chronicles  xxxiv.  3.    **  While  he  was  yet  young,  he 
began  to  seek  after  the  God  of  David  his  father.''     .     3t 

SERMON  IV. 

jfesas  xveeping  over  Jerusalem* 
Luke  xix.  41,  42.  u  And  when  he  was  come  near,  he 
beheld  the  city,  and  wept  over  it,  saying- — If  thou  hadst 
known,  even  thou,  at  least  in  this  thy  day,  the  things 
which  belong  unto  thy  peace !  But  now  they  are  hid 
from  thine  eyes." 59 

SERMON  V. 

Jesus  leaving  Peace  to  his  Disciples. 
John  xiv.  27.    "  Peace  I  leave  with  you  ;  my  peace  I  give 
unto  you :  not  as   the  world  giveth,  give  I  unto  you,. 
Let  not  yoyr  heart  be  troubled,  neither  be  afraid."    8Q 


X  CONTENTS, 

SERMON  VI. 

The  Agony  of  Jesus. 
Luke  xxii.  44.    "  Being   in  an  agony,  he  prayed  more 
earnestly  ;  and  his  sweat  was  as  it  were  great  drops  of 
blood  falling  down  to  the  ground." 115 

SERMON  VII. 

The  Crucifixion — a  Sacramental  Discourse. 
Luke  xxiii.  33.    "  And  when  they  were  come  to  the  place 
that  is  called  Calvary,  there  they  crucified  him."     135 

SERMON  VIII. 

The  Christian's  Victory  over  the  World. 
1  John  v.  4.    "  Whatsoever  is  born  of  God,  overcometh 
the  world."     ♦ 155 

SERMON  IX. 

Ministry  of  Angels. 

Hebrews  t.  14.  "  Are  they  not  all  ministering  spirits, 
sent  forth  to  minister  for  them  that  shall  be  heirs  of 
salvation  I" 171 

SERMON  X, 

Life  of  Adam. 

Genesis  v.  5.  "  And  all  the  days  that  Adam  lived  were 
nine  hundred  and  thirty  years  ;  and  he  died."  .    .    198 

SERMON  XI. 

Cain  and  Abel. 
Genesis  iv.  1 — 17.     .     - .      «    222 


CONTENTS  xi 

SERMON  XII. 

Heaven. 

Matthew  xxv.  34.   "  Then  shall  the  King  say  unto  them 

on  his  right  hand,  Come,  ye  blessed  of  my  father,  inherit 

the   kingdom  prepared  for  you  from  the  foundation   of 

the  world." 241 

SERMON  XIII. 

Love  to  the  Saviour. 
John  xxi.  17.  "  He  saith  unto  him  the  third  time,  Simon, 
son  of  Jonas,  lovest  thou  me  V* 264 

SERMON  XIV. 

Rememhrance  of  the  Love  of  Christ — a  Sacramental  Discourse, 
Canticles  i.  4.  "  We  will  remember  thy  love."    .    .    290 

SERMON  XV. 

The  Lord  our  Shepherd. 

Psalm  xxiii.   "  The  Lord  is  my  Shepherd,    I  shall  not 
want." 314 

SERMON  XVI. 

Abraham  offering  up  Isaac. 
Genesis  xxii.  1,  2.  "  And  it  came  to  pass  after  these 
things,  that  God  did  tempt  Abraham,  and  said  unto 
him,  Abraham  :  and  he  said,  Behold  here  I  am.  An&: 
he  said,  Take  now  thy  son,  thine  only  son  Isaac,  whom 
thou  lovest,  and  get  thee  into  the  land  of  Moriah  ;  and 
offer  him  there  for  a  burnt-offering  upon  one  of  the 
mountains  which  I  will  teH  thee  of."     ....     331 

SERMON  XVII. 

The  Sinner  his  own  Destroyer. 

Hosea  xiii.9.  "  O  Israel,  thou  hast  destroyed  thyself."  346 


xii  CONTENTS. 

SERMON  XVIII, 

Last  Judgment. 

Revelations  xx.  11,  12,  13.  "  And  I  saw  a  great  white 
throne  and  him  that  sat  on  it ;  from  whose  face  the 
earth  and  the  heaven  fled  away,  and  there  was  found 
no  place  for  them.  And  I  saw  the  dead  small  and 
great  stand  before  God,  and  the  books  were  opened ; 
and  another  book  was  opened  which  was  the  book  of 
life,  and  the  dead  were  judged  out  of  those  things  which 
were  written  in  the  books,  according  to  their  works* 
And  the  sea  gave  up  the  dead  which  were  in  it ;  and 
death  and  hell  delivered  up  the  dead  which  were  in 
them  ;  and  they  were  judged  every  man  according  to 
their  works."     *     •     .     .      .     *     .      *     .     *     .     365 


SERMON  I. 

CHRISTIAN  EDUCATION, 

Ephesians  vi.  4. 

"  And,  ye  fathers,  provoke  not  your  children  to  wrath  ; 
kut  bring  them  up  in  the  nurture  and  admonition  of  the 
Lord." 

WHEN  in  any  churches  where  pure  religion 
has  once  flourished,  we  behold  corrupt  manners  and 
licentious  sentiments,  a  diminution  in  the  zeal  and 
number  of  the  disciples  of  Jesus,  and  an  augmenta- 
tion of  the  votaries  of  vanity  and  sin  ;  we  shall 
generally  find  that  this  lamentable  degeneracy  has 
been  caused  in  a  great  degree  by  a  neglect  of  chris- 
tian education.  If  in  such  places  we  would  wish 
to  restore  the  holiness  and  fervour  of  former  times, 
perhaps  no  single  mean  can  be  employed,  that  is  so 
efficacious,  as  a  strict  and  faithful  regard  to  this  duty. 

A  subject  of  such  consequence  deserves  our  se- 
rious consideration.  Favour  us  then  with  your  at- 
tention while  we  enquire, 

I.  What  is  implied  in  a  christian  education ;  and 
A 


2  SERMON  I. 

II.  What  are  those  motives  which  should  excite 
parents  to  bestow  it  upon  their  children. 

The  nature  of  this  duty,  and  the  inducements 
which  should  urge  us  to  comply  with  it,  form  then 
the  whole  division  of  the  ensuing  discourse. 

I.  What  then  is  implied  in  a  christian  educa- 
tion ?  What  is  that  duty  to  which  St.  Paul  exhorts 
parents,  when  he  charges  them  "  not  to  provoke 
their  children  to  wrath,  but  to  bring  them  up  in  the 
nurture  and  admonition  of  the  Lord  ?"  This  chris- 
tian education,  this  sacred  duty,  includes  these  four 
things — wise  discipline ■,  salutary  instruction,  holy  ex- 
ample,  fervent  prayer. 

1.  A  wise  discipline  is  essential  to  a  christian  edu- 
cation. In  vain  will  you  hope  to  lead  your  children 
in  the  ways  of  piety,  if  you  do  not  begin  while 
they  are  yet  young,  to  exercise  over  them  a  strict 
but  affectionate  discipline ;  if  you  do  not  teach  them 
from  the  very  cradle,  that  instead  of  acting  accord- 
ing to  their  own  wayward  fancies,  they  are  to  be 
regulated  by  the  will  of  God,  and  their  parents.— 
Give  the  reins  to  their  inclinations,  suffer  them  to 
act  as  they  please,  let  them  have  no  other  restraint 
than  their  own  wishes  and  desires,  and  they  are  in 
the  direct  road  to  misery,  to  vice,  and  to  perdition ; 
they  will  perhaps  live  to  curse  that  weak  fond- 
ness, which  strengthened  vicious  habits  and  plunged 
them  into  guilt — to  execrate  those  criminal  com* 


SERMON  L  5 

pliances  which  have  laid  the  foundation  of  their  un= 
happiness,  by  cherishing  furious  passions,  and  inca- 
pacitating them  to  bear  with  disappointment. — Go- 
vern them  then  with  a  firm  and  steady  hand.     Be- 
gin to  bend  the  twig  while  it  is  yet  flexible ;  in  a 
few  years  it  will  become  a  sturdy  oak  and  resist  all 
your  efforts.     The  vicious  propensities  of  children, 
the  fruit  of  their  original  corruption,  are  early  to  be 
discerned.     On  their  first  appearance,  endeavour  to 
extirpate  them,  and  exercise  your  authority  to  pre- 
vent the  formation  of  criminal  habits.      Keep  a 
watch  over  their  tongues.    Do  not  like  so  many  in- 
judicious parents,  encourage  lying  or  ill-nature,  by 
smiling  at  a  false  or  malignant  expression,  if  it  have 
some  degree  of  smartness.     Do  not  nourish  their 
pride  by  excessive  commendation  and  flattery,  by 
loading  them  with  pageantry  and  gorgeous  orna- 
ments.    Do  not  cultivate  their  revenge  by  teaching 
them  to  direct  their  feeble  yet  malicious  strokes, 
against  the  persons  or  things  that  have  injured  them. 
Do  not  inspire  a  relentless  and  tyrannical  disposition, 
by  permitting  them  to  torture  various  species  of 
animals.    Do  not  encourage  a  worldly  spirit,  by  con- 
tinually proposing  the  riches  or  honours  of  earth,  as 
the  recompence  which  they  may  expect  for  their 
goodness,  while  the  favour  of  God  is  scarcely  ever 
mentioned  as  an  object  worthy  to  be  aspired  after. 
Do  not  suffer  them  to  be  exposed  to  unnecessary 
temptations,  which,  while  their  judgement  is  im- 
mature and  their  reason  without  the  aids  of  expe- 


4  SERMON  I. 

rience,  will  almost  inevitably  plunge  them  into  sin. 
But  on  the  contrary,  by  a  steady  exercise  of  dis- 
cipline, accustom  them  to  the  utmost  sincerity,  jus- 
tice, and  benevolence  in  their  intercourse  with  their 
companions.  Habituate  them  to  controul  their  pas- 
sions and  wishes.  Accustom  them  to  value  time, 
and  to  flee  from  indolence,  that  canker  of  virtue  and 
destroyer  of  the  soul.  Teach  them  to  be  modest, 
to  be  humble,  and  exemplary  in  their  deportment ; 
to  reverence  the  ordinances  and  institutions  of 
religion  ;  and  to  pray  constantly  to  their  Heavenly 
Father.  Thus  strive,  by  an  unintermitted  course 
of  discipline,  to  implant  virtuous  habits,  to  prevent 
Satan  from  gaining  new  authority  in  their  souls,  and 
to  regulate  their  outward  conduct ;  and  you  have 
great  ground  to  hope  that  whilst  you  are  thus  em- 
ployed, God  will  shed  down  his  Holy  Spirit  to  bless 
your  exertions,  and  to  change  the  hearts  of  your 
offspring. 

When  I  speak  of  the  necessity  of  discipline,  I 
am  not  recommending  an  inhuman  severity.  This 
will  "  provoke  them  to  wrath,"  and  irritate  instead 
of  reforming  them.  Let  your  government  be  like 
that  of  our  Father  in  heaven ;  mild,  gentle,  affection- 
ate, springing  from  love  and  exercised  in  mercy ; 
yet  not  weakly  with -holding  reproof  and  chastise- 
ment when  they  are  necessary.  In  inflicting  this 
punishment,  however,  be  careful  to  make  your  chil- 
dren feel  that  you  do  it  in  the  name  of  God,  from  a 


SERMON  I.  5 

hatred  of  sin,  and  for  their  good.  Be  firm,  but  not 
furious — let  your  eye  melt  with  sorrow,  but  not 
sparkle  with  rage — let  your  tongue  express  your 
regret  and  pity,  but  not  pour  out  bitter  and  pas- 
sionate reproaches.  If  your  children  perceive  that 
you  are  influenced  by  passion,  and  not  by  reason  and 
religion,  your  authority  will  become  odious  or  con- 
temptible. 

Let  your  discipline  be  just  and  equal ;  make  no 
invidious  distinctions  between  your  children ;  in- 
dulge no  partial  affection  for  one  child  in  preference 
to  another  equally  deserving.  Let  punishment  be 
proportioned  to  faults  ;  punish  those  sins  that  are 
immediately  against  God,  more  severely  than  those 
that  are  against  you.  Let  wilful  and  habitual  vices 
be  treated  with  greater  severity,  than  those  that  are 
more  unintentional  and  rare.  Preserve  this  fami- 
ly-justice, or  your  punishments  will  harden  instead 
of  amending  your  children. 

Finally,  study  carefully  the  tempers  of  your  chil- 
dren, and  diversify  your  discipline  according  to  the 
diversity  of  their  tempers.  Let  it  be  more  mild 
or  rigorous,  according  as  the  gentleness  or  stubborn- 
ness of  their  dispositions  requires  one  or  the  other 
of  these  modes  of  treatment. 

This  is  the  first  thing  that  is  included  in  a  chris- 
tian education ;  a  wise  discipline. 


0  SERMON  I. 

2.  A  christian   education,  requires  the  diligent 
instruction  of  children  in  the  principles  of  our  holy 
religion.     It  is  possible  that  a  person  may  know 
the  doctrines  of  Christianity  and  yet  be  unholy ;  but 
it  is  impossible  that  he  should  be  entirely  ignorant 
of  them,  and  yet  be  holy.     The  illumination  of  the 
mind,  always  must  and  does  precede  the  sanctifica- 
tion  of  the  heart.     Be  careful  then  to  give  your  off- 
spring that  knowledge  and  information  which  they 
must  have,   before  they  can   understandingly  em- 
brace the  offers  of  salvation,  and  become  the  chil- 
dren of  God  ;  and  if  in  discharging  this  duty  you 
are  animated  by  proper  motives,  you  have  reason  to 
hope  for  the  accompanying  influences  of  the  Holy 
Spirit  to  bring  them  "  from  darknes  into  marvellous 
light."     And  even  though  this  great  effect  should 
not  immediately  be  produced,  yet  still  your  labours 
are  not  in  vain.     That  religious  knowledge,  with 
which  jrou  store  their  minds,  will  be  a  powerful 
scuard  aeainst  temntation,  a  strong  incentive  to  du- 
ty,  a  mean  which  God  may  hereafter  employ  for 
their  conversion.     Though  they  now  neglect  your 
instructions,  yet  they  will  not  be  able  entirely  to 
efface  them.      They  may   hereafter    be    forcibly 
brought  to  their  remembrance  by  the  Holy  Ghost, 
and  produce  a  saving  conversion.     It  is  a  just  ob- 
servation of  a  pious  and  judicious   writer,*  that 
inversions  in  advanced  life  are  most  commonly 

*  Doctor  Wither  spoon: 


SERMON  I.  7 

the  resurrection  of  those  seeds  which  were  sown  in 
infancy,  but  had  long  been  stifled  by  the  violence 
of  youthful  passions,  or  the  pursuits  of  ambition, 
and  the  hurry  of  an  active  life." 

Parents,  it  is  not  left  to  your  choice  whether  or 
not  you  will  afford  this  instruction  to  your  children. 
God  in  innumerable  places  enjoins  it  upon  you, 
"  These  my  words  ye  shall  teach  unto  your  chil- 
dren, speaking  of  them  when  thou  sittest  in  thine 
house,  and  when  thou  walkest  by  the  way  ;  when 
thou  liest  down,  and  when  thou  risest  up."f  "  God 
hath  established  a  testimony  in  Jacob,  and  appointed 
a  law  in  Israel,  which  he  commanded  our  fathers 
that  they  should  make  them  known  to  their  chil- 
dren ;  that  the  generation  to  come  might  know 
them,  even  the  children  which  should  be  born,  who 
should  arise  and  declare  them  to  their  children,  that 
they  might  set  their  hope  in  God,  and  not  forget  the 
works  of  God,  but  keep  his  commandments.''^ 

If  then,  you  would  "  bring  up  your  children  in 
the  nurture  and  admonition  of  the  Lord,"  you  must 
afford  them  religious  instructions  before  their  minds 
are  pre-occupied  by  errors  and  prejudices.  Early 
teach  them  their  miserable  and  corrupted  state  by 
nature.  When  their  little  limbs  are  afflicted  with 
pain,  when  sorrow  forces  tears  from  their  eyes? 
when  any  distress  assails  them  ;  tell  them  that  this 

|  Deuteronomy  xi.  18,  19.  t  Psalms  Ixxviii.  5,  4,  7. 


S  SERMON  It 

pain,  this  sorrow,  this  distress,  are  the  fruits  and  the 
chastisements  of  sin.  Tell  them  how  odious  this 
sin  is  to  God,  point  them  to  the  flames  of  the  abyss 
which  it  has  kindled.  Reveal  to  them  also  the 
abounding  grace  of  God  ;  shew  them  how  he  has 
given  us  his  Son  to  save  us  from  hell,  and  raise  us 
to  glory  ;  and  declare  to  them  the  splendours  of 
that  crown  which  he  will  give  to  all  that  love  and 
serve  him.  Let  these  and  similar  truths  be  pro- 
posed to  them  in  their  tenderest  years  ;  not  as  sub- 
jects of  discussion  but  as  historic  facts ;  not  as 
points  that  they  are  immediately  to  examine  and 
understand  ;  but  as  the  testimony  of  God  which  is 
to  be  received  by  them  with  full  belief. 

Be  careful  that  in  this  first  period  of  their  life,  you 
do  not  give  them  a  disgust  to  religion,  by  inculca- 
ting it  in  a  gloomy  and  injudicious  manner.  Pro- 
portion your  instructions  to  their  capacities.  In 
their  earliest  years  they  will  be  unable  to  under- 
stand your  abstract  reasonings  or  your  subtle  ex- 
plications of  doctrinal  points.  By  forcing  them  fre- 
quently to  attend  to  these  reasonings  and  explana- 
tions, at  that  period  when  your  words  are  to  them 
unintelligible  sounds  which  excite  no  clear  ideas, 
you  render  piety  dry  and  wearisome  ;  you  make  it  a 
task  and  a  burden,  from  which  they  rejoice  to  be  re- 
leased. Leave  then  this  mode  of  instruction  till 
they  are  able  to  comprehend  you  ;  and  begin  by  re- 
counting to  them  those   interesting  histories  on 


SERMON  I.  9 

which  our  religion  is  founded,  and  which  are  level 
to  the  weakest  capacities.  If  you  would  give  them 
striking  ideas  of  the  greatness,  the  mercy,  and  jus- 
tice of  God,  do  not  enter  into  a  laboured  philosoph- 
ical discussion,  but  relate  to  them  some  of  the  im- 
pressive events  which  illustrate  these  perfections. 
If  you  would  give  them  a  just  representation  of  vir- 
tue, and  an  inclination  to  practice  it,  enter  into  no 
toilsome  analysis,  but  present  to  them  some  touch- 
ing incidents  in  the  lives  of  the  saints.  Dwell  fre- 
quently on  the  actions  of  our  divine  Saviour,  on 
his  birth,  his  sufferings,  his  death,  his  resurrection 
and  ascension.  This  picture  will  display,  infinitely 
better  than  all  your  profound  reasoning,  the  holi- 
ness and  tender  mercies  of  God  ;  this  will  be  the 
most  perfect  and  admirable  model  of  obedience  to 
God,  of  charity  to  a  guilty  world,  of  humility,  of 
self-denial,  of  resignation,  of  magnanimity  under 
sufferings  and  persecutions.  These  histories  pro- 
perly  related  will  awaken  the  attention  and  feeling 
of  your  offspring,  and  will  make  the  profoundest 
impression  upon  their  mind  and  heart.  You 
will  behold  them  moved  even  to  tears  ;  their  little 
hearts  will  glow  with  gratitude  and  love  ;  their 
tongues  will  lisp  forth  the  praises  of  their  gracious 
Creator  and  blessed  Saviour  ;  and  their  feeble  hands 
be  lifted  up  to  the  throne  of  their  heavenly  friend. 

As  the  understandings  of  your  children  are  de- 
veloped, and  as  their  minds  expand,  teach  them  or 

B 


10  SERMON  h 

cause  them  to  be  taught,  the  proofs  of  those  serrti- 
timents  which  they  had  received  as  facts,  revealed 
by  God,  and  the  doctrines  which  grow  out  of  those 

histories  in  which  they  have  been  instructed 

Teach  them  or  cause  them  to  be  taught,  the  reasons 
why  we  receive  our  religion  as  divine ;  and  shew 
them  how  superficial  and  ungrounded,  are  the  ob- 
jections of  its  adversaries.  Teach  them  or  cause 
them  to  be  taught,  the  high  and  sublime  doctrines  of 
this  religion ;  shew  them  that  though  the  utmost 
penetration  of  the  human  mind  cannot  fully  compre- 
hend or  explain  many  of  these  doctrines,  yet  never- 
theless, the  utmost  subtlety  of  the  human  mind 
cannot  find  any  thing  in  them  contradictory  to  rea- 
son. Teach  them  or  cause  them  to  be  taught,  what 
are  the  particular  tenets  embraced  by  that  commu- 
nion in  which  they  were  born,  and  the  reasons  which 
lead  you  to  suppose  that  they  are  the  tenets  inculca- 
ted by  the  word  of  God.  In  one  word,  instruct 
them  in  every  thing  that  is  connected  with  Chris- 
tianity, so  that  they  may  be  ready  to  "  give  a  rea- 
son of  the  hope  that  is  in  them." 

Thus  educated,  they  will  be  able  to  enter  the 
world  with  little  danger  of  being  seduced  into  er- 
ror ;  they  will  be  able  to  repel  the  assaults  of  the 
infidel  and  the  fallacies  of  the  enthusiast ;  they  will*, 
by  the  blessing  of  God,  become  firm  and  rational 
believers,  and  pillars  of  the  church. 


SERMON  I.  II 

Ah !  my  brethren,  is  this  the  manner  in  which 
you  educate  your  children  ?  Do  you  not  strive 
more  to  teach  them  how  to  attain  to  opulence  and 
dignity  in  the  world,  than  how  to  obtain  the  heav- 
enly inheritance?  Do  you  not  instruct  them  in  al- 
most every  other  science  with  greater  care,  than  in 
the  science  of  salvation  ?  You  spare  no  pains  or 
cxpence,  that  your  sons  may  be  made  acquainted 
with  languages,  arts,  or  professions  ;  and  can  you  be 
indifferent,  in  the  mean  time,  whether  they  speak  the 
language  of  heaven  or  hell ;  whether  or  not  they 
are  initiated  in  the  an  of  holy  living  ;  whether  they 
have  the  profession  of  a  christian  soldier,  or  a  slave  of 
satan  ?  You  instruct  your  daughters  in  the  regu- 
lation of  domestic  economy,  or  in  the  gaver 
and  more  light  accomplishments  of  the  age.  Ah  ! 
while  they  are  so  "  careful  about  many  things," 
why  will  you  not  teach  them  that  "  one  thing  is 
needful :"  Why  will  you  not  shew  them  how  to  ob- 
tain that  greatest  and  most  solid  of  accomplish- 
ments, the  image  of  God,  the  impress  of  heaven  ? 
This  is  the  second  thing  that  is  included  in  a 
christian  education  :   Salutary  Instruction. 

3.  In  a  christian  education,  it  is  necessary  for  pa- 
rents to  illustrate  their  precepts  by  personal  exam- 
pie.  Example  has  at  all  times  an  astonishing  influ- 
ence upon  us  ;  but  in  our  early  years,  when  we  have 
no  fixed  habits,  when  we  are  incapable  of  discern- 
ing the  intrinsic  propriety  of  actions,  we  are  formed 


12  bKRMON  I. 

almost  entirely  by  imitation.     This  is  our  precep* 
tor  before  we  can  reason,  nay,  before  we  can  speak. 
If  your  own  practice  be  inconsistent  with  religion, 
the  remonstrances  of  conscience  will  prevent  you 
from  faithfully  reproving  in  your  children,  those  vi- 
ces of  which  you  are  guilty  ;  and  a  wish  to  palliate 
your  own  corruptions,  will  hinder  you  from  advising 
them  with  impartiality.     And  even  if  this  effect  be 
not  produced,  even  if  your  reproofs  be  faithful,  and 
your  advices  impartial,  yet  while  your  conduct  con. 
tradicts  them,  you  induce  your  offspring  to  question 
the  sincerity  of  your  assertions,  or  to  doubt  of  the 
possibility  of  complying  with  your  directions  ;  you 
lead  them  to  suppose  that  religion  consists,  not  in  a 
steady  and  uniform  practice   of  its  duties,  but  in 
frequently  conversing  of  its  doctrines  and  obliga- 
tions.    While  your  language  and  life  are  thus  con- 
tradictory, as  a  Scotch  divine  forcibly  observes,  "you 
point  them  with  your  finger  on  the  road  to  heaven  ; 
you  take  them  by  the  hand,  and  lead  them  to  that  of 
hell."     No,  no !  miserable  mother ;  you  may  give 
your  children  the  most  wise  and  pious  instructions., 
but  you  have  no  reason  to  hope  that  these  instruc- 
tions will  be   blest,  while  your  whole  behaviour 
proves  that  you  despise  and  scorn  them.     What 
though  you  tell  your  offspring  that  God  is  supremely 
to  be  loved,  that  the  salvation  of  their  soul  should 
be  their  chief  concern,  will  they  not  esteem  these 
teachings  to  be  unmeaning  and  hypocritical  cant, 
whilst  they  see  you  careless  of  God,  neglectful  of 


SERMON  I.  15 

the  concerns  of  your  soul,  inordinately  attached  to 
the  world,  and  pursuing  with  shameful  avidity,  its 
vanities,  its  pleasures,  and  its  riches?  No,  no  wretch- 
ed father,  whilst  you  are  profane,  licentious,  immor- 
al, neglectful  of  family  prayer  or  private  devotion, 
you  need  not  expect  that  your  cold  advices  will 
lead  your  children  to  holiness  and  to  God.  De- 
riving their  character  from  surrounding  objects, 
they  will  not  fail  to  imitate  you  to  whom  they  are  so 
strictly  united,  whom  from  motives  so  various,  they 
are  led  to  resemble.  They  will  not  long  resist  the 
seductions  of  vice,  when  you  go  before  them  in  in- 
iquity, and  tempt  them  to  plunge  into  the  fearful 
abyss.  This  is  the  third  thing  that  is  included  in  a 
christian  education — Holy  Example. 

4.  Finally,  all  your  exertions  will  be  in  vain,  un- 
less you  frequently  pray  to  God  for  his  direction,  as- 
sistance and  blessing.  So  many  virtues  are  requisite 
for  the  proper  discharge  of  this  duty,  that  if  we  rely 
upon  our  own  sufficiency,  we  shall  certainly  fail. 
We  shall  relax  in  that  prudence,  that  diligence,  that 
affection,  without  which  our  labours  will  be  useless. 
And  even  though  this  were  not  the  case,  even  though 
we  could  do  every  thing  that  we  ought  to  do,  without 
calling  down  God  to  our  aid  ;  yet  still  in  vain 
should  we  plant  and  water,  except  he  gave  the  in- 
crease ;  and  he  has  not  engaged  to  give  it  to  us,  ex- 
cept as  an  answer  to  our  prayers.  Frequently  then 
pour  out  your  petitions  to  that  God  who  pitieth  us 


14  SERMON  I. 

as  a  father  pitieth  his  children  ;  and  who  alone 
"  maketh  wise  the  simple."     Beseech  him  to  teach 
you  how  to  discharge  your  duty  to  your  children, 
and  to  "  direct  the  hearts  of  your  children  in  the 
ways  of  his  laws  and  the  works  of  his  command- 
ments."    Do  not   content  yourself  with  making 
these  supplications  in  the  family  and  closet ;  but  at 
particular  times  take  your  children  apart ;  tell  them 
the  importance  and  necessity  of  religion  ;  tell  them 
how  it  would  cheer  your  hearts  to  see  them  walk 
in  the  ways  of  godliuess  ;  and  then  in  their  presence 
and  cheir  behalf,  pour  out  before  God  the  tender 
and  impassioned  wishes  of  your  heart,  the  ardent 
desires  of  your  affectionate  souh 

Thus  let  your  prayers  continually  ascend  :  God 
will  answer  them  in  mercy,  and  you  will  find  that 
your  "  labours  have  not  been  in  vain  in  the  Lord." 

This  is  the  last  thing  included  in  a  christian  edu- 
cation— Fervent  Prayers. 

May  the  Lord  enable  you  faithfully  to  perform 
these  duties.  Then  the  blood  of  your  perishing 
children  shall  not  be  required  at  your  hands.  (Ezek. 
iii.  18.)  Then  you  will  not  be  chargeable  with  the 
perfidious  neglect  of  the  trust  and  deposite  commit- 
ted to  you  by  God.  Then  at  the  decisive  day,  you 
shall  not  be  filled  with  confusion  and  terror,  when 
lesus  shall  demand  of  you  the  purchase  of  his  blood. 


SERMON  II. 

CHRISTIAN  EDUCATION, 

Ephesians  vi.  4. 

"  Ajidy  ye  fathers,  provoke  not  your  children  to  zvrath  ; 
but  bring  them  up  in  the  nurture  and  admonition  of  the 
Lord:1 

IN  a  previous  discourse  to  you  from  these 
words,  we  proposed, 

I.  To  consider  the  nature  of  a  christian  educa- 
tion, and 

II.  To  examine  some  of  the  motives  which 
should  induce  parents  to  bestow  it  upon  their  chil- 
dren. 

In  treating  the  first  of  these  divisions,  we  shewed 
that  a  christian  education  required,  a  firm,  steady, 
yet  affectionate  exercise  of  discipline  ;  a  diligent 
care  to  instruct  children  in  those  things  which  it  is 
necessary  for  christians  to  know  ;  a  holy  example 
confirming  our  precepts,  and  fervent  prayers  for,  and 
with  our  children. 

Parents,  it  is  no  easy  matter  to  discharge  these 


16  SERMON  II. 

weighty  duties.  Thus  to  "  bring  up  your  children 
in  the  nurture  and  admonition  of  the  Lord,"  re- 
quires constant  care,  persevering  diligence,  unre- 
mitted attention.  Yet  do  not,  on  this  account,  de- 
sist from  your  labours.  The  task  is  difficult,  but 
the  motives  to  enforce  it  are  impressive.  We  are 
in  the 

Second  division  of  our  discourse,  to  present  you 
with  a  few  of  these  motives. 

1.  Are  you  zealous  for  the  prosperity  of  Zion? 
Have  you  any  regard  for  the  interests  of  the  Sa- 
viour ?  Be  careful  then  to  confer  a  pious  education 
upon  your  children.  Reflect  what  you  are  doing, 
while  you  suffer  them  to  grow  up  in  ignorance  and 
in  vice.  You  are  preparing  them  to  dishonour  God, 
to  wound  the  hearts  of  the  pious,  to  strengthen  the 
cause  of  irreligion.  You  are  preparing  them  as  fit 
instruments  in  the  hands  of  satan,  to  cast  reproach 
upon  piety  ;  and  to  assail  the  kingdom  of  the  bles- 
sed Saviour.  Ah  !  could  you  with  prophetic  vi- 
sion look  forward  into  futurity,  what  would  you 
behold  ?  You  would  see  that  son,  whose  passions 
you  now  suffer  to  be  uncontrolled,  whose  mind  you 
now  suffer  to  be  unstored  with  religious  knowl- 
edge ;  you  would  see  him  a  hardened  sinner,  en- 
couraging others  in  guilt,  perhaps  scoffing  at  the 
name  of  the  Redeemer,  and  trampling  upon  his 
cross.  You  would  see  that  daughter,  whom  you 
educate  in  carelessness  and  folly,  absorbed  by  the 


SERMON  II.  17 

vanities  of  the  world,  neglectful  of  God  and  her 
soul,  a  determined  opposer  to  a  holy  life.  Ah  ! 
slothful  father,  hypocritical  mother,  dare  you  pre* 
tend  that  you  are  the  friends  of  Jesus,  whilst  you 
are  thus  careless  of  advancing  his  interests  ;  whilst 
you  are  educating  your  offspring  to  become  his 
enemies.  Go,  leave  the  camp  of  Israel :  Fight 
openly,  as  you  do  in  reality,  under  the  banner  of 
the  adversaries  of  Jesus  Do  :  not  deceitfully  pre- 
tend that  you  are  submissive  to  the  captain  of  our 
salvation,  whilst  you  are  secretly  strengthening  the 
cause  of  his  enemies* 

On  the  contrary,  what  an  encouragement  is  it  to 
diligence  in  this  duty  to  reflect,  that  through  the 
efficacious  grace  of  God,  your  labours  may  be 
blest,  so  as  to  promote  the  good  of  the  church,  and 
the  glory  of  the  Redeemer.  That  son,  over  whom 
you  now  watch  with  such  anxiety,  whose  passions 
you  constantly  strive  to  regulate,  whose  mind  you 
endeavour  to  inform  with  the  truths  of  God,  whose 
wants  and  necessities  you  unceasingly  spread  before 
your  heavenly  Father,  whom  you  by  faith  give  up, 
and  dedicate  to  the  Lord ;  this  son  may,  through 
the  divine  blesiing  upon  your  virtuous  exertions, 
become  "a  burning  and  a  shining  light ;"  an  emi- 
nent servant  of  the  Lord,  an  intrepid  soldier  of  the 
cross.  If  he  remain  a  private  christian,  his  exam- 
ple, his  instructions,  and  his  prayers,  will  prove  a 
blessing  to  his  neighbours  and  friends ;  will  be  in- 

C 


18  SERMON  II. 

fiuential  in  "  rearing  Zion  from  the  dust,"  and  in 
advancing  the  glory  of  the  blessed  Saviour.  If  he 
be  called  to  assume  the  sacred  office,  his  labours 
may  be  blest  to  the  conversion  and  edification  of 
numerous  souls  ;  the  blessings  of  many  that  were 
ready  to  perish,  but  whom  God  by  him  plucked 
from  the  burning,  and  made  to  exalt  his  infinite 
glories  and  perfections,  shall  descend  upon  the  head 
of  you,  the  faithful  father  or  the  pious  mother,  who 
"  brought  up  this  child  in  the  nurture  and  admoni- 
tion of  the  Lord."  "  Many  a  congregation,"  says 
pious  Baxter,  "  that  is  happily  fed  with  the  bread 
of  life,  may  thank  God  for  the  endeavours  of  some 
poor  man  or  woman,  that  trained  up  a  child  in  the 
ways  of  God,  to  become  their  holy  and  faithful 
teacher." 

(fThat  daughter  also  over  whom  you  watch  with 
parental  fondness  and  with  christian  care ;  in  whose 
breast  you  early  strive  to  implant  holy  habits  and 
virtuous  desires ;  whose  warm  affections  and  lively 
passions,  you  endeavour  to  direct  towards  their  true 
objects,  the  blessed  God  and  compassionate  Sa- 
viour ;  whose  mind  you  store  with  the  principles  of 
virtue  and  religion  ;  for  whom  your  fervent  prayers 
daily  rise  up  before  Almighty  God  ;  the  name 
of  this  daughter  may  be  joined  with  those  of  the 
numberless  female  worthies,  who  bv  their  mild  and 
gentle  persuasions,  and  their  excellent  examples, 
have  strengthened  the  cause  of  the  Redeemer,  en- 


SERMON  H.  19 

couraged  the  saints,  and  brought  sinners  to  reflec- 
tion. Her  conduct  as  a  child,  as  a  wife,  and  a  moth- 
er, may  afford  a  living  proof  of  the  excellency  of 
the  religion  of  Christ,  and  may  eminently  tend  to 
strengthen  his  cause.  I  ask  you  then  again,  are 
you  zealous  for  the  prosperity  of  Zion  ?  Have  you 
any  regard  for  the  interests  of  Jesus?  "  Bring  up 
your  children  in  his  nuture  and  admonition,"  that 
they  may  be  the  instruments  of  glorifying  him,  and 
promoting  his  kingdom  in  the  world. 

2.  Perhaps  there  are  some  of  you  who  feel  little 
affected  by  this  motive  ;  let  me  then  urge  you  by 
another  consideration.  Have  you  any  regard  to  the 
public  prosperity,  to  the  honor  and  interest  of  your 
country  ?  In  order  to  promote  this  prosperity,  to 
advance  this  honour  and  interest,  "  bring  up  your 
children  in  the  nurture  and  admonition  of  the  Lord.'* 
If  you  leave  a  pious  generation  to  succeed  you,  the 
blessing  of  God  will  rest  upon  the  land  which  they 
inhabit.  Their  "  righteousness  will  exalt  the  na- 
tion," (Prov.  xiv,  34.)  and  "no  weapon  formed 
against  it  shall  prosper."  (Is.  liv,  17.)  But  if,  on 
the  contrary,  you  suffer  those  who  are  to  take  your 
place  in  the  state  when  your  head  is  laid  in  the  dust, 
to  grow  up  in  carelessness  and  irreligion,  their 
"sin  will  be  the  reproach  of  this  people :"  (Prov.  xiv, 
34.)  their  sin  will  call  down  the  judgments  of  God 
upon  it.  If  your  offspring  be  pious,  they  will  drs. 
charge  the  duties  that  belong  to  the  station  which. 


£0  SERMON  II. 

they  shall  occupy,  in  such  a  manner  as  to  promote 
the  public  tranquility  and  happiness.     Acting  un- 
der the  eye  of  the  Judge  of  all  the  earth,  and  in  the 
prospect  of  that  account  which  they  must  render 
unto  him,  they  will,  whether  as  rulers  or  as  sub- 
jects, endeavour  to  promote  the  public  felicity,  and 
to  be  blessings  in  their  day  and  generation.     But 
if  your  offspring  have  not  these  restrainsts  ;  if  you 
have  never  laboured  to  inspire  them  with  sincere 
love  to  God,  and  warm  charity  to  man  ;  if  you  have 
never  striven  to  implant  in  their  hearts  the  senti- 
ments of  virtue,  and  to  control  the  fury  of  their 
passions  ;  is  there  not  cause  to  fear  that  they  may 
be  the  scourges  of  their  country,  that  they  may  be 
regardless  of  every  thing  but  their  own  gratifica- 
tion ;  that  they  may  be  incendiaries,  or  disturbers 
of  the  public  peace  ?    Is  there  not  cause  to  fear,  that 
the  curses  of  a  bleeding  country,  made  unhappy, 
immediately  by  their  means,  but  ultimately  by  you, 
will  pursue  you  even  to  the  grave  ?   Do  you  then 
love  your  country,  and  wish  for  its  prosperity? 
Give  to  your  children  a  pious  education  ;  lay  upon 
them  early  the  restraints  of  religion ;    and  then 
when  you  lie  down  in  the  grave,  and  they  become 
the  rulers,  the  legislators,  and  citizens  of  the  na- 
tion, they  will  be  animated  by   proper  motives ; 
thev  will  conscientiously  aim  at  the  public   weal, 
and  the  blessing  of  God  most  High,  will  crown  their 
efforts  with  success. 


SERMON  II.  21 

3.  Do  you  shudder  at  the  crime  of  perjury  ? 
Do  you  tremble  at  the  dreadful  guilt,  the  over- 
whelming punishment  of  that  man,  who  dares  to 
sport  with  the  solemn  sanctions  of  an  oath  ?  Pa- 
rents, you  have  bound  your  souls  by  a  sacred  oath  ; 
whether  you  have  fulfilled  it,  the  searcher  of  hearts 
well  knoweth,  and  all  mankind  will  know  in  the 
day  of  judgement.  When  you  offered  your  child 
to  God  in  the  holy  ordinance  of  baptism,  you  then 
solemnly  vowed  and  swore,  that  you  would  bring 
it  up  in  the  "  nurture  and  admonition  of  the  Lord ;" 
and  you  invoked  this  great  God  to  witness  your  vow* 
and  to  punish  the  violation  of  it.  Dare  you  wil- 
fully and  habitually  violate  these  obligations  ? 
Can  you  be  careless  of  the  pious  education  of  your 
children,  and  yet  fail  to  tremble  at  that  vengeance 
which  shall  weigh  down  the  perjured  soul  to  deep 
perdition  ?  When  you  suffer  weeks  and  months 
to  pass  without  affording  pious  instructions  and 
advices  to  your  offspring,  without  offering  your 
prayers  to  God,  in  their  presence  and  in  their  be- 
half, without  shewing  them  the  example  of  a  holy 
life  ;  does  not  conscience  sometimes  cry  to  you, 
"  Is  it  thus  that  you  fulfil  your  baptismal  vow  ? 
Is  it  thus  that  you  perform  that  solemn  oath,  taken 
in  the  presence  of  God,  of  angels,  and  of  men  ?  Is 
it  thus  that  you  execute  your  engagement  to  that 
Lord,  who  hath  recorded  your  promises  in  the 
book  of  remembrance,  and  will  produce  them  to 
you  in  the  day  of  retribution  ?    Do  you  then  trem- 


22  SERMON  II. 

ble  at  perjury  ?    Give  to  your  children  a  pious 
education,  and  thus  fulfil  your  oath. 

4.  Let  me  urge  you  to  this  duty,  from  a  regard 
to  the  temporal  and  eternal  welfare  of  your  children. 
The  temporal  happiness  of  your  offspring,  depends 
in  a  great  degree  upon  their  pious  education.  Ex- 
cept their  minds  are  fortified  by  holy  instructions, 
and  their  hearts  impressed  with  religious  senti- 
ments, they  will  run  heedlessly  on  in  the  paths  of 
folly  and  vice,  strangers  to  those  high  joys  which 
flow  from  an  approving  conscience,  from  com- 
munion with  God,  and  from  a  foretaste  of  heaven. 
And  besides  all  this,  there  is  great  danger  that  they 
indulge  those  gross  and  abominable  crimes,  which 
will  bring  down  upon  them,  not  only  the  vengeance 
of  God,  but  also  the  execration  of  their  fellow-men. 
Unrestrained  by  sentiments  of  piety,  uncontrolled 
by  a  conscience  which  has  never  been  enlightened ; 
what  is  to  prevent  them  from  being  plunged  into 
infamy  by  their  unbridled  passions  ?  Examine  the 
registers  of  guilt,  read  the  lives  of  those  men  who 
by  a  public  execution  have  expiated  for  their  viola- 
tion of  the  laws  ;  do  you  not  find  numbers  of  them 
cursing  their  parents  for  bringing  them  to  this  state, 
by  neglecting  to  give  them  a  pious  education  ? 
And  with  respect  to  the  other  sex ;  who  are  the  fe- 
males whose  polluted  courses  have  covered  their 
families  with  ignominy,  and  themselves  with  con- 
tempt ?    Are  they  not  those  who  were  not  taught 


SERMON  II.  23 

in  youth  to  reverence  the  God  of  purity  ?  And 
even  if  your  children  should  all  be  saved,  (as  we 
fervently  desire  and  pray  that  they  all  may  be  saved) 
from  these  dreadful  excesses,  yet  still  they  may,  by 
the  habitual  indulgence  of  other  sins  less  odious 
in  themselves,  procure  for  themselves  misery  and 
shame.  I  beseech  you  to  look  around  you  in  the 
world  ;  attend  to  the  lives  of  those  persons  who  are 
most  loaded  with  the  contempt  and  the  disdain  of 
society.  Are  they  not  most  generally  those  who 
have  been  sent  into  the  world  by  their  parents  un- 
protected by  pious  habits  and  religious  precepts  ? 
Ye  fathers,  whose  love  for  your  children  is  warm 
and  disinterested  ;  ye  mothers,  whose  felicity  is  in- 
timately connected  with  their  happiness,  can  you  be 
so  blind  and  so  cruel  to  them,  as  to  expose  your  be- 
loved offspring  to  so  deplorable  a  state. 

But  supposing  that  none  of  these  fears  should 
ever  be  realized  ;  supposing  that  your  children 
who  are  thus  neglected  by  you,  should  live  caress- 
ed and  applauded  by  men,  the  favourites  of  the 
world ;  yet  still  d^th  will  by  and  bye,  approach 
to  them  ;  death  tor  which  you  never  taught  them  to 
prepare  ;  Jeath,  which  spares  not  the  favorites  of 
earth  *  which  is  the  entrance  into  eternal  torments 
&r  all  that  are  not  interested  in  Jesus  Christ.  Come 
then,  careless  and  neglectful  parents,  who  are  in- 
dulging in  your  children  a  thoughtlessness  and  in- 
attention to  the  concerns  of  their  souls  ;  come  and 


£4  SERMON -II. 

let  us  view  your  children  contending  with  death  ; 
let  us  see  what  happiness  you  have  secured  for 
them.  Behold  them  weighed  down  by  infirmi- 
ties of  body,  harrassed  by  anxieties  of  mind,  lash- 
ed by  the  stings  of  conscience.  They  look  back 
upon  the  past  with  confusion  ;  they  tremble  to  re- 
member "  that  they  glorified  not  God,  in  whom 
their  breath  was,  and  whose  are  all  their  ways  :>f 
(Dan.  v,  23.)  They  cast  their  eyes  towards  the 
future,  and  see  nothing  but  images  of  horror. 
Whilst  shuddering  and  affrighted  at  beholding  the 
depth  of  the  gulph  into  which  they  are  about  to 
plunge,  they  cast  looks  of  reproach  and  anguish 
upon  you.  "  Of  what  avail,"  they  cry  to  you, 
**  of  what  avail  are  now  all  the  riches,  the  honours, 
and  pleasures  of  the  world,  which  you  were  anxious 
to  procure  for  me  ;  why  did  you  not  tell  me  that 
a  single  Christ  was  better  than  all  earthly  friends  ? 
Why  did  you  not  tell  me  of  the  importance  of 
eternal  things  :  I  now  see  all  their  consequence  ; 
but  I  see  it  too  late.  "Fool  that  I  was,  to  be  blinded 
and  rendered  careless  by  you :  but  my  self-re- 
proaches are  now  unavailing ;  v^e  earth  vanishes  ; 
the  frowning  Judge  appears  ;  hell  opt^s  to  receive 
me," 

Thus  they  die  in  horror,  and  driven  forever  from 
the  presence  of  God,  "  lift  up  their  eyes,  being  in 
torments."  Parents,  can  any  of  you  be  so  inhu- 
man, so  barbarous,  so  monstrous,  as  to  neglect  ycur 
children  and  prepare  for  them  this  fearful  doom  ? 


SERMON  II.  fiS 

Let  me  hope  better  things  of  you  ;  let  me  hope 
that  you  will  strive  to  lead  them  early  to  God  ;  be 
faithful,  and  God  has  promised  to  bless  your  exer- 
tions. Then  your  children  cannot  fail  to  be  hap- 
py ;  they  will  have  the  Lord  as  their  friend,  their 
guard,  and  protector  ;  and  Jesus  Christ  as  their 
high-priest,  their  advocate,  and  redeemer.  They 
will  have  those  true  riches  which  endure  for  ever  ; 
those  durable  honours  which  eternity  will  not  im- 
pair ;  those  ravishing  pleasures  which  flow  at  God's 
right  hand.  In  life,  they  will  be  honoured  and  re- 
spected by  the  wise  and  good  :  In  death,  they  will 
be  tranquil  and  serene  ;  for  they  will  be  supported 
by  those  sentiments  of  religion  which  were  early 
felt  by  them,  and  upheld  by  that  Saviour  to  whom 
you  early  directed  their  thoughts,  and  their  desires. 
And  beyond  the  grave  they  shall  be  ever  with  the 
Lord  ;  ever  undefined  by  sin,  and  unassailed  by 
grief.  Do  you  then  love  your  children  ?  "  Bring 
them  up  in  the  nurture  and  admonition  of  the 
Lord  ;"  and  thus  you  will  secure  for  them  a  happy 
life,  a  joyous  death,  and  a  triumphant  eternity. 

5.  Finally,  do  you  love  yourselves  ?  Do  you 
wish  to  obtain  the  highest  pleasures,  and  avoid  the 
severest  pains  ?  Give  your  children  a  pious  edu- 
cation. If  the  blessing  of  God  on  your  tender 
care,  render  your  offspring  virtuous  and  holy,  what 
pure  delights  will  you  experience.  Their  amiable 
and  devout  conduct  will  be  a  cordial  to  your  soul, 

D 


26  SERMON  II. 

amidst  the  pains  and  decripitude  of  years  ;  the  ap- 
plause bestowed  upon  them,  will  afford  joy  to  you  ; 
they  will  never  slight,  disregard,  nor  dishonour 
you  ;  but  will  strive  by  every  grateful  and  delicate 
attention,  by  every  expression  of  filial  love,  en- 
nobled by  religion,  to  gild  the  evening  of  your  days. 
"  Happy  parent  1  your  years  shall  be  prolonged, 
not,  as  it  often  happens,  to  see  your  comforts  fall 
from  you  one  by  one,  and  to  become  at  once  old 
and  destitute  ;  but  to  taste  a  new  pleasure,  not  to 
be  found  among  the  pleasures  of  youth,  reserved 
for  your  age  ;  to  reap  the  harvest  of  your  labours, 
in  the  duty,  affection,  and  felicity  of  your  dear 
children.'*     (Ogden.) 

But  if  on  the  contrary,  you  refuse  to  bring  up 
your  children  in  the  fear  of  the  Lord,  is  there  not 
cause  to  apprehend  that  they  who  are  suffered  to 
slight  and  neglect  God,  should  also  slight  and 
neglect  you  ?  Is  there  not  cause  to  apprehend  that 
their  passions  may  lead  them  into  misery  and  guilt, 
which  will  embitter  all  your  pleasures  and  poison 
all  your  enjoyments  ?  Is  there  not  cause  to  ap- 
prehend, that  the  time  may  come,  when,  like  un- 
happy David,  you  will  in  vain  seek  for  joy  from  the 
pomps  and  honours  of  the  world,  but  must  sorrow- 
fully retire  to  your  chamber,  weeping  for  the  irregu- 
larities of  your  child,  and  exclaiming  in  the  bitter- 
2iess  of  your  soul,  Oh  I  Absalom  my  son,  my  son  ? 


SERMON  II.  27 

Remember  too,  that  having  lived  for  a  short  time 
in  this  mortal  state,  you  will  at  last  arrive  at  its 
close,  and  be  stretched  upon  your  bed  of  death. 
Think  what  delightful  sensations,  or  what  ter- 
rible pains,  will  then  be  experienced  by  you,  accord- 
ing as  you  have  performed  or  neglected  this  duty. 
Shall  you  have  given  your  children  a  pious  educa- 
tion, and  seen  them  walking  in  the  paths  of  truth 
and  godliness,  you  will  then  be  enabled  to  leave 
them  without  regret,  and  to  bid  them  farewell  with 
calmness ;  you  will  be  able  to  commit  them  with 
confidence  to  the  Father  of  the  fatherless,  knowing 
that  they  shall  rest  with  safety  under  the  shadow 
of  the  Almighty.  You  will  be  armed  against  the 
terrors  of  the  approaching  separation,  by  remem- 
bering that  you  have  performed  your  duty  to  them* 
though  imperfectly,  yet  sincerely ;  and  by  antici- 
pating that  period  when  you  shall  again  be  united 
before  the  throne  of  God.  '•  Though  such  a  pa- 
rent die,"  says  the  wise  son  of  Sirach,  "  yet  he 
is  as  though  he  were  not  dead  ;  for  he  hath  left  one 
behind  him  that  is  like  himself.  While  he  lived, 
he  saw  and  rejoiced  in  him  ;  and  when  he  died,  he 
was  not  sorrowful."     (Ecclesiasticus  xxx.  4,  6.) 

Shall  you,  on  the  contrary,  at  the  hour  of  death, 
be  forced  to  remember  that  you  have  neglected  your 
children,  and  by  your  carelessness  destroyed  their 
souls  ?  Ah  !  this  reflection  will  kindle  a  hell  in  your 
bosom,  will  give  double  terrors  to  death.     "  God 


28  SERMON  II. 

gave  me  children,"  you  will  cry  in  agony:  "  God 
gave  me  children,  committed  to  me  the  care  of  their 
immortal  souls,  and  ordered  me  to  bring  them  up  in 
his  fear.  At  the  period  of  thtir  baptism,  I  vowed 
thus  to  do  ;  but  I  have  slighted  my  vows,  and  for- 
gotten my  engagements  ;  I  have  been  careful  of  their 
temporal  interests,  and  anxious  for  their  outward 
welfare,  but  have  been  careless  of  the  state  of  their 
souls  :  I  have  sold  them  to  sin  and  to  satan  ;  I  have 
been  the  instrument  of  their  perdition ;  they  are 
lost ;  but  their  blood  is  about  to  be  required  at  my 
hands."  Parents,  are  you  desirous  that  these  should 
not  be  your  feelings  on  the  bed  of  death  ?  Begin 
then  instantly  to  bring  up  your  children  "in  the 
nurture  and  admonition  of  the  Lord." 

. 

Remember,  finally,  that  the  day  of  judgment  is 
approaching  :  Death  shall  lay  your  bodies  and  the 
bodies  of  your  children  in  the  dust;  but  at  the  voice 
of  the  archangel  and  the  trump  of  God,  you  shall 
wake  from  the  long  slumbers  of  the  grave  to  receive 
your  final  doom.  Oh !  what  joy  shall  swell  the  heart 
of  the  godly  parent,  when  the  voice  of  the  archangel 
shall  cry,  arise,  thou  pious  father,  thou  holy  mother ; 
arise  and  re-embrace  those  righteous  children  whom 
death  tore  from  your  arms ;  arise,  open  your  eyes 
upon  your  dear  children  who  closed  them  when  you 
expired  ;  arise,  press  to  your  parental  bosom  these 
your  descendants  whom  you  early  dedicated  to  God, 
and  educated  in  his  fear ;  go  before  them  to  the 


SERMON  II.  29 

throne  of  the  Judge,  and  exclaim  in  humble  triumph, 
"  behold  us  O  God,  and  the  children  whom  thou 
hast  given  us."  (Isaiah  v.  18.) — '*  Those  that  thou 
gavest  me  I  have  kept,  and  none  of  them  is  lost." 
(John  xvii.  12.)  He  will  give  you  the  crown  of 
righteousness;  he  will  cause  you  never  more. to  be 
separated  from  each  other,  nor  from  him. 

But,  O  criminal  parent,  these  joys  are  not  for 
you — for  you  are  reserved  tortures,  which  the 
heart  in  vain  attempts  to  conceive.  That  son,  that 
daughter,  whom  you  are  leading  to  perdition,  will 
descry  you  amongst  the  assembled  crowd ;  as  they 
sink  in  the  flames,  they  will  imprecate  the  vengeance 
of  God  upon  your  head  ;  they  will  cry  to  you  in  a 
voice  that  will  rend  your  heart ;  "  wretched  parent  \ 
it  is  you  that  have  brought  us  hither!  it  is  you  who 
communicated  to  us  a  corrupted  nature,  and  were 
careless  of  leading  us  to  God,  and  inspiring  us  with 
holy  sentiments  ;  wretch !  why  didst  thou  call  us 
into  being?  why  didst  thou  plunge  us  into  hell  ?  our 
doom  is  remediless ;  but  we  will  become  thy  tor- 
mentors !  we  will  forever  present  ourselves  to  thee, 
surrounded  by  those  flames  which  consume  us, 
weighed  down  by  those  chains  of  darkness  with 
which  we  are  bound  ;  we  will  cry  to  thee,  behold 
thy  work!  The  groans,  the  shrieks,  the  howlings, 
which  we  shall  through  eternity  pour  forth,  will  vi- 
brate in  thine  ear,  will  reproach  thee  for  our  misery 
and  thy  guilt,  will  kindle  a  hell  within  thee  more  in-* 


30  SERMON  IL 

tolerable  than  the  flames  in  which  thou  shalt  be 
enwrapped." 

But  I  forbear.  This  picture  is  too  appalling.  If 
the  mere  anticipation  of  such  a  scene  freezes  the 
blood,  what,  oh !  what  must  be  its  reality! 


SERMON  III. 

EARLY  PIETY. 

2  Chronicles  xxxiv.  3. 

'*  While  he  was  yet  young,  he  began  to  seek  after  the  God 
of  David  his  father" 

AN  earthly  panegyrist  in  giving  the  character 
of  a  celebrated  king,  would  have  talked  much  of 
the  extent  of  his  dominions,  the  power  of  his  arms, 
the  splendour  of  his  court ;  but  the  spirit  of  God, 
overlooking  these  objects  as  unworthy  of  attention, 
mentions  as  the  most  glorious  characteristic  of  the 
king  of  Judah,  that  "  while  he  was  yet  young,  he 
began  to  seek  after  the  God  of  David  his  father." 
How  much  more  honourable  to  Josiah  is  this  eulo- 
gium,  than  the  most  brilliant  description  of  his  dig- 
nities and  wealth  could  have  been  ?  His  dignities 
and  wealth  could  not  have  accompanied  him  beyond 
the  grave  ;  his  palace  has  long  since  fallen  to  the 
dust ;  his  throne  has  crumbled  to  ruins,  his  crown 
has  lost  its  lustre  :  but  his  early  piety  has  followed 
him  into  the  unseen  world,  where  he  dwells  in  the 
pajace  of  the  King  of  kings,  seated  on  a  durable 


52  SERMON  III. 

throne,  and  having  his  brows  encircled  by  a  crown 
which  shall  never  fade  away.  My  young  friends, 
this  palace  of  God,  this  throne  in  the  heavens,  tliis 
crown  of  immortality,  are  offered  to  you  as  well  as 
to  Josiah.  His  example  will  teach  you  in  what 
manner  to  attain  them.  Imitate  his  early  piety, 
and  you  shall  partake  of  his  recompense.  Like 
him,  while  yet  young,  seek  the  God  of  your  fathers, 
and  this  God  will  confer  upon  you  a  felicity  and 
honour,  infinite  in  degree,  eternal  in  duration. 

My  sole  design  on  the  present  occasion,  is  to 
persuade  you  thus  to  act,  by  presenting  you  with  a 
variety  of  motives,  to  induce  you  early  to  conse- 
crate yourselves  to  God:— 'And  do  thou,  merciful 
Father,  accompany  this  discourse  by  the  almighty 
energy  of  thy  spirit,  and  the  omnipotent  efficacy  of 
thy  grace,  so  that  these  youth  may  be  converted 
from  the  error  of  their  ways. 

From  the  variety  of  motives  which  immediately 
occur  to  my  mind,  I  find  it  difficult  to  select  those 
that  are  most  impressive.  I  shall  confine  myself 
however  to  the  illustration  of  these  few  ideas  : 

I.  Nothing  is  more  amiable  in  itself  or  more 
pleasing  to  Gody  than  Early  Piety. 

Early  piety,  though  not  so  venerable  as  aged 
virtue,  is  yet  equally   attractive   and   interesting. 


SERMON  III.  33 

To  see  good  principles  thoroughly  governing  the 
whole  conduct ;  to  see  them  prevail  over  all  youth- 
ful levities  and  follies  ;  to  see  passions  at  a  time  of 
life  when  usually  most  ungovernable,  yet  subjected 
to  reason  and  conscience  ;  to  see  the  spirit  and 
vanity  of  the  world  despised  and  trampled  under 
foot  ;  to  see  constancy,  steadiness  and  uniformity 
of  life,  at  a  season  when  irresolution  and  the  caprice 
of  fancy  frequently  prevail ;  to  see  a  person  while 
yet  in  the  morn  of  life,  with  the  sentiments  of  a  vir- 
tuous  old  age,  is  surely  in  itself  a  desirable  and  in- 
teresting spectacle. 

And  this  conduct,  so  agreeable  in  itself,  is  like- 
wise most  pleasing  to  God.  Read  your  scriptures  ; 
you  will  there  find  God  frequently  and  affection- 
ately calling  upon  you,  to  "  remember  your  Crea- 
tor in  the  days  of  your  youth  ;"  (Eccles.  xii.  1.) 
assuring  you,  that  "if  you  seek  him  early,  you 
shall  find  him ;"  (Prov.  viii.  17.)  and  confirming 
the  sincerity  of  these  calls,  the  truth  of  these  assu- 
rances, by  examples  of  the  especial  favour  with 
which  he  ever  regarded  early  converts.  God  has 
then  clearly  expressed  his  desire,  that  you  should 
turn  unto  him  ;  and  shall  this  consideration  have 
no  influence  upon  you  ?  Methinks  if  no  other  ar- 
gument could  be  offered  for  youthful  piety  but 
this,  it  is  pleasing  to  God,  a  reasonable  being  ought 
uot  to  hesitate  how  to  act.  Consider  for  a  mo- 
merit  who  is  this  God,  who  thus  imnortunately 

F, 


m  sermon  ra 

urges  you  to  seek  after  him.  He  is  the  all-perfect 
God,  and  therefore  infinitely  worthy  of  the  service 
of  a  whole  life,  deserving  of  the  attachment  of  our 
youthful  hearts,  as  well  as  of  our  aged  souls.  He 
is  the  eternally  blessed  God,  and  can  therefore  from 
the  exhaustless  source  of  his  all-sufficiency,  shed 
down  upon  us  those  streams  of  benedictions  and 
favours  which  will  satisfy  our  souls,  and  abundantly 
recompense  us  for  those  trifling  gratifications  that 
we  relinquish  for  him.  He  is  the  creating  God, 
and  shall  we,  his  offspring,  rise  in  rebellion  against 
him,  and  ungratefully  use  the  faculties  he  has  given 
us,  in  opposition  to  him  ?  He  is  the  preserving 
God,  without  whose  constant  influence  and  support, 
we  should  be  blotted  from  existence.  Every  pulse 
that  beats,  every  moment  that  flies,  is  a  new  gift  of 
his  tender  love,  a  new  effect  of  his  infinite  power, 
If  our  first  years  flowed  from  a  different  source  from 
our  last,  we  might  be  excused  for  not  consecrating 
them  to  him  ;  but  since  he  gives  you  all  your  life, 
what  right  have  you  to  rob  him  of  the  period  of 
youth  ?  He  is  the  Redeemer  God,  and  he  adjures 
you  by  the  agonies  of  the  garden,  and  the  blood  of 
the  cross,  to  devote  yourselves  to  him  :  of  what 
must  your  hearts  be  made,  if  they  can  resist  pleas 
so  tender.  He  is  the  kindest  of  fathers,  the  best 
of  friends,  the  most  munificent  of  benefactors.  He 
has  already  conferred  upon  you  countless  favours  ; 
and  are  you  not  dreadfully  ungrateful,  if  in  the  midst 


SERMON  III.  35 

of  these  favours  you  refuse  to  comply  with  his  af- 
fectionate commands  ? 

God  calls  you  then  to  cultivate  early  piety,  and 
it  is  infinitely  fit  that  you  obey  his  will. 

II.   Youth  is  a  season  in  which  you  have  the  great- 
est advantages  for    cultivating    the  principles  of 
piety y  and  the  greatest  need  of  religion,  as  a  defence 
from  temptation  and  dangers. 

The  greatest  advantages.  It  is  true  that 
you  find  even  in  this  age  the  principles  of  sin  in 
your  hearts ;  but  these  principles  have  not  yet  been 
so  fortified  by  repeatedly  impelling  to  action,  nor  by 
reiterated  actions  become  such  powerful  habits,  as 
they  will  be  at  any  future  time.  You  have  not  yet 
so  connected  your  iniquities  with  all  your  pursuits, 
and  made  them  so  to  mingle  with  all  your  occu- 
pations, as  you  will  hereafter  have  done.  Your 
mind  is  now  open  for  the  reception  of  truth  ;  in  a 
great  degree  uncorrupted  by  prejudices  ;  at  least, 
unattached  to  them  from  long  possession  ;  having 
a  docility  and  teachableness  of  disposition,  from  a 
conviction  of  your  inexperience,  the  principles  of 
piety  may  more  easily  be  implanted,  and  having 
fewer  obstacles  to  oppose  them,  will  take  firmer 
root.  Your  heart  is  now  warm  and  tender  ;  un- 
chilled  by  the  commerce  of  the  world  ;  free  from 
the  callousness  of  age  ;  its  native  emotions  glowing 


36  SERMON  III. 

with  all  their  force,  it  is  more  easily  moved  by  the 
love  of  its  God,  by  the  mercy  of  its  Redeemer,  by 
all   those  tender  incitements  to  duty,  which   the 
gospel  presents  to  it.     Your  passions,  though  more 
ardent,    are    notwithstanding,   more    manageable? 
more   easily  turned  from   improper  objects,  than 
they  will  be,  when  inveterate  and  confirmed  habits 
have  been  formed.     As  yet,  the  sentiments  of  mo- 
desty and  propriety,  a  regard  to  the  opinions  of 
others,  make  you  blush  for  your  acts  of  vice,  and 
endeavour  to  conceal  them  from  the   world.     In 
riper  years  you  will  assume  a  boldness  in  iniquity ; 
disregard  the  censures  of  others  ;  cease  to  be  re- 
strained by  them,  till  at  last  you  may  come  to  "  glo- 
ry in  your  shame."     (Phil.  iii.  19.)     As  yet  you 
are  not  entangled  in   the   business,   the  follies,  the 
tumult  of  the  world,  which  so   often  engross  all 
the  affections  and  thoughts  of  riper  years  :  you  are 
not  yet   entirely    occupied  with   prosecuting  the 
schemes  of  ambition,  or  amassing  heaps  of  trea- 
sure, but  have  full  time  for  meditating  on  the  con- 
cerns of  a  better  state.     As  yet,  conscience  has  not 
been  often  stifled  and  deeply  corrupted  :    It  still 
preserves,  if  I  may  speak  so,  its  tremulous  delicacy, 
and   nice  sensibility  ;  it  still  elevates  its  warning 
voice,  and  strongly  remonstrates  at  your  deviation 
from  virtue  ;  but  in  the  aged  sinner,  weary  of  use- 
less reproof,  it  is  almost  silent,  or  if  it  still  speak, 
it  is  almost  always  disregarded.     As  yet,  you  have 
an  ardour  and  fervency,  most  remote  from  ths 


SERMON  III.  37 

timid  prudence  of  age,  and  most  favourable  to  a 
thorough  conversion.  Disdaining  all  resistance, 
ambitious  of  high  atchievments,  leaping  over  op- 
posing obstacles,  youth  flies  to  the  goal,  whilst  age, 
creeping  fearfully  along,  clinging  still  to  the  en. 
joyments  of  earth,  discouraged  by  every  difficulty, 
will  scarcely  ever  attain  it.  Like  the  wife  of  Lot, 
it  may  proceed  a  small  distance  from  the  city, 
doomed  to  destruction,  but  devoid  of  alacrity  and 
vigour,  it  will  seldom  reach  the  Zoar,  the  place  of 
safety.  It  must  be  evident  to  you,  my  brethren, 
that  these  dispositions  and  sentiments,  are  from 
their  nature,  calculated  to  advance  you  in  the  chris- 
tian course  :  of  themselves,  they  are  not  sufficient 
to  make  you  holy ;  but  when  grace  sanctifies 
them,  and  directs  them  to  proper  objects,  they 
must  render  your  progress  in  religion  more  ra- 
pid and  more  delightful.  And  remember  too, 
that  this  inciting  grace,  is  given  you  in  greater 
measure  in  youth,  than  in  advanced  life  ;  that  God 
by  his  spirit  now  beseeches,  and  importunes  you 
to  turn  and  live  more  frequently  and  forcibly,  than 
he  will  hereafter.  I  appeal  to  you,  aged  sinners, 
for  the  truth  of  this  representation.  Are  there 
none  of  you  who  often  in  early  life,  felt  the  attrac- 
tions and  suggestions  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  which 
"  almost  persuaded  you  to  be  christians ;"  (Acts 
xxvi.  28.)  but  who,  now  that  you  have  advanced 
in  life,  and  are  nearer  to  perdition,  scarcely  ever 
think  of  the  destiny  that  awaits  you  ;  scarcely  ever 


38  SERMON  III. 

are  induced  to  meditate  seriously,  on  the  means  to 
avoid  it.  You  see  then,  my  young  friends,  that 
whether  you  consider  jrour  own  disposition,  or  the 
conduct  of  God,  you  find  advantages  for  progress- 
ing in  piety,  which  you  will  not  have  at  any  other 
period  of  your  lives.  If  then  you  have  not  renoun- 
ced all  hope  and  desire  for  salvation,  (and  surely 
none  of  you  can  be  so  mad,  as  deliberately  to  sa- 
crifice the  pleasures  of  heaven,  and  embrace  the  tor- 
tures of  hell) — if  you  wish  to  apply  the  most  suit- 
able means  for  the  attainment  of  this  salvation,  (and 
you  are  not  reasonable  creatures,  if  you  do  not  wish 
it) — will  you  not  imitate  the  example  of  the  pious 
king  of  Judah,  and  "  begin  while  yet  young,  to 
seek  after  the  God  of  your  fathers." 

And  if  the  advantages  which  you  now  enjoy  for 
the  cultivation  of  religion,  form  a  strong  induce, 
ment  to  you  to  attend  to  the  concerns  of  piety,  so 
also  do  the  dangers  and  temptations  to  which 
you  are  now  exposed.  Every  other  period  of  life  has 
some  salutary  restraints  and  guards  which  are  denied 
to  youth.  Childhood,  is  weak  and  feeble,  without 
power  or  temptation  to  commit  many  sins,  and  sub- 
jected  to  the  visitant  controul  of  parents.  Manhood, 
is  occupied  by  business  and  avocations ;  and,  in  pur- 
suit of  honours  and  emoluments,  finds  it  necessary 
by  at  least  an  appearance  of  virtue,  to  conciliate  the 
esteem  and  respect  of  the  world.  Old  age,  has  the 
lessons  of  experience,  is  impotent  to  do  evil,  and 


SERMON  III.  39 

beholds  death,  judgment,  eternity,  nearly  approach- 
ing. But  youth,  is  left  without  any  of  these  power- 
ful restraints,  these  salutary  guards.  The  world, 
whose  treachery  and  falsehood  it  has  not  yet  known, 
spreads  before  it  a  thousand  gay  and  alluring  scenes, 
to  draw  it  aside  from  virtue.  Every  thing  is  novel ; 
every  thing  is  captivating.  The  blood  courses  with 
impetuosity  through  the  veins;  passion  and  appetite 
are  in  their  full  vigour ;  objects  to  excite  them  are 
each  moment  presented ;  judgment  is  immature ; 
reason  without  the  aids  of  experience  ;  the  imagi  ■ 
nation  active  in  creating  illusions  ;  the  heart  sensi- 
ble to  pleasure,  easily  inflamed,  lively  and  impetu- 
ous in  its  desires.  Ah  !  in  so  perilous  a  situation, 
what  but  the  sacred  guidance  of  religion  can  pre- 
serve us  ?  A  young  person  without  this  guidance, 
resembles  a  vessel  without  rudder  and  without  pilot, 
tossed  on  an  agitated  ocean  in  the  midst  of  an  ob- 
scure night,  conflicting  with  violent  storms,  dashing 
frequently  against  quicksands  and  rocks,  liable  each 
moment  to  be  shivered  into  pieces,  or  to  sink  into 
the  abyss. 

Stop  then  for  a  moment,  my  young  friends ; 
think  of  your  danger,  and  in  order  to  avoid  it,  "  be- 
gin" with  Josiah  "  to  seek  after  the  God  of  your 
fathers." 

III.  By  early  piety,  you  will  prepare  tranquility 
und  joy  for  old  age,  should  you  arrive  unto  it ; 


40  SERMON  IIJ 

whilst  by  an  opposite  conduct  you  will  Jill  it  with 
remorse  and  fears. 

An  old  man,  who  has  forgotten  God  in  his  youth, 
is  seldom  converted  ;  and  if  he  is  not,  how  wretch- 
ed must  he  be  in  that  period  of  weakness  and  de~ 
bility,  when  supports  and  consolation  are  so  much 
needed,  since  his  views  of  the  past,  the  present,  and 
the  future,  bring  with  them  nothing  but  grief  and 
anguish.  He  contemplates  the  past ;  he  sees  a 
whole  life  given  him  to  prepare  for  eternity,  squan- 
dered in  vanity  and  sin  ;  he  sees  a  wide  and  dreary 
waste,  where  the  eye  is  relieved  by  no  monuments 
of  virtue  and  piety ;  he  considers  the  present,  and 
is  filled  with  confusion ;  he  turns  towards  the  fu- 
ture, and  with  gloom  and  distress,  beholds  death 
for  which  he  has  not  prepared,  pressing  upon  him  ; 
beholds  a  tribunal  where  he  can  hope  for  no  acqui- 
tal,  already  erected  ;  beholds  an  eternity  of  joys 
which  he  would  fain  possess,  but  which  he  has 
bartered  for  those  pleasures,  of  which  nothing  re- 
mains but  an  insipid  or  painful  remembrance  ;  be- 
holds  an  eternity  of  torments,  which  he  has  merited 
by  his  sins  and  iniquities.  The  ghosts  of  departed 
joys  flit  before  him,  and  point  to  those  regions  of 
woe,  whither  sinful  delights  conduct.  Such  is 
the  old  age  of  those  who  remember  not  God  io 
their  youth,  and  then  remain,  as  they  almost  always 
do,  at  a  distance  from  him  during  the  whole  course 
of  their  lives.     Even  if  (to  make  the  most  favour- 


SERMON  III.  41 

able  supposition,  and  a  supposition  which  is  seldom 
verified)  even  if  called  at  the  eleventh  hour,  this  aged 
man  has  truly  turned  unto  the  Lord,  how  far  will  he 
be  from  enjoying  the  same  pleasure  as  the  early  con- 
vert. He  will  almost  certainly  be  subject  at  times 
to  painful  apprehensions  and  doubts ;  to  fears  that 
he  forsakes  the  world,  only  because  he  can  no 
longer  retain  it ;  that  he  renounces  the  enjoyments 
of  earth,  only  because  from  the  decay  of  his  body, 
from  the  feebleness  of  his  mind,  and  the  weakness 
of  his  fancy,  he  is  unable  to  indulge  in  them* 
These,  and  a  thousand  other  similar  fears,  generally 
occasion  in  the  mind  of  him  who  is  converted  in 
old  age,  a  painful  hesitancy  concerning  the  security 
of  his  state,  prevent  him  from  going  on  his  way- 
rejoicing,  and  cloud  that  prospect  of  immortality 
which  would  be  a  stay  to  his  sOul. 

How  much  more  consolatory  and  cheering  are 
the  meditations  of  the  aged  christian,  who  remem- 
bered his  creator  in  the  days  of  his  youth.  He  is 
solaced  in  reviewing  his  conduct,  to  find  the  bright- 
est  evidences  of  his  sincerity  ;  for  he  forsook  the 
world  when  it  appeared  in  its  most  alluring  garb, 
and  spread  its  most  glittering  snares  to  entangle 
him :  He  forsook  it  when  his  ardent  passions  and 
vigorous  powers  enabled  him  to  participate  in  its 
pleasures  with  the  greatest  gust ;  he  has  long  and 
successfully  warred  under  the  banner  of  the  Cap* 
tain  of  his  salvation  ;  he  has  resisted  the  most  vie* 


42  .SERMON  III. 

lent  temptations  of  hope  or  fear,  which  would 
have  drawn  him  from  his  duty.  The  perplexing 
doubts  which  harass  the  pious  but  unexperienced, 
concerning  their  steadfastness  and  perseverance  in 
the  ways  of  religion,  are  for  him  past,  and  his  mind 
is  serene  as  the  regions  of  heaven.  In  reviewing 
the  past,  he  sees  the  long  interval  between  the  sea- 
son of  youth  and  the  furrowed  countenance  and 
hoary  head  of  age,  filled  up  in  some  good  degree 
with  works  of  devotion,  righteousness,  and  benevo- 
lence ;  whereby  he  has  glorified  God,  benefited  his 
brother,  and  made  provision  that  his  memory 
should  always  be  precious  ;  and  the  recollection  of 
them  makes  him  re-enjoy  the  scenes  through  which 
he  has  passed.  Ah  !  what  can  be  more  delightful 
than  to  remember,  how  early  he  was  enabled  to 
devote  himself  to  God  ;  how  frequently  he  has 
conflicted  with  difficulties  and  trials  for  his  sake  ; 
how  rich  has  been  his  experience  of  the  providen- 
tial care  and  protection  of  his  Heavenly  Father ; 
how  often  he  has  enjoyed  communion  with  his 
God ;  lifted  up  his  desires  to  him,  and  poured  out 
before  him  the  warm  effusions  of  his  soul.  And  if 
from  the  past,  he  turns  and  contemplates  the  fu- 
ture, views  the  most  animating  are  presented  to 
him  ;  he  fixes  a  steady  eye  upon  those  glories  in 
which  he  knows  he  is  interested ;  he  rejoices  that 
he  almost  touches  the  object  of  all  his  hopes  and 
desires  ;  that  he  will  shortly  be  admitted  into  the 
presence  of  that  God,  whom  he  has  so  long  loved; 


SERMON  III.  43 

and  be  delivered  from  a  combat  which,  has  so  long 
endured. 

Surely  an  old  age  thus  placid  and  venerable,  is 
an  object  worthy  of  our  desires :  surely  these  peace- 
ful recollections,  these  sublime  prospects,  amidst 
the  dreariness  of  age,  are  deserving  our  exertions. 
Do  you  wish  to  attain  them  ?  "  Remember  your 
creator  in  the  days  of  your  youth  ;  then  no  evil 
days  shall  come  ;  no  years  draw  nigh  in  which 
you  shall  say,  I  have  no  pleasure  in  them."  (Eccles* 
xii.  1.  2.) 

IV.  A  regard  to  the  feelings  of  all  the  pious  per* 
sons  in  the  church  universal,  a  respect  to  the  happ'u 
ness  of  your  parents,  should  induce  you  early  to  de- 
vote yourselves  to  God. 

You  know  not,  my  young  friends,  the  severe 
pain  which  is  felt  by  all  true  christians,  in  beholding 
unconverted  youth.  As  the  ancient  and  honour- 
able pillars  of  the  temple  fall  one  by  one ;  as  the 
aged  persons  who  have  been  zealous  and  faithful 
soldiers  of  Christ,  pass  in  succession  from  the 
church  militant  to  the  church  triumphant ;  we  look 
around  with  anxiety  upon  the  rising  generation,  to 
see  who  will  supply  their  places,  who  will  wield  the 
weapons  which  have  fallen  from  their  hands,  who 
will  in  dieir  stead  direct  and  encourage  the  body  of 
the  faithful.     And  if,  instead  of  the  piety  which 


U  SERMON  IH. 

distinguished  these  holy  christians,  we  see  in  their 
progeny  a  disregard  of  God  and  his  ordinances,  an 
enmity  and  distaste  to  a  holy  life,  a  worldly  and  care- 
less spirit ;  oh  !  you  know  not  the  grief  which  such 
prospects  excite  in  the  hearts  of  all  who  sincerely 
love  the  Lord.  Young  men,  amongst  this  pious 
band  whom  your  inconsiderate  conduct  thus  deeply 
wounds,  there  are  numbers  whom  you  are  bound  to 
honour  and  revere,  numbers  for  whom  you  express 
high  esteem  and  regard.  Will  you  not  be  suffi- 
ciently generous  and  affectionate  to  pause  and  at- 
tend to  the  things  which  belong  to  your  eternal 
peace,  in  order  to  give  happiness  and  joy  to  so  ma- 
ny of  your  fellow-men  ? 

Or  if  this  consideration  be  too  general  to  affect 
you,  think  for  a  moment  how  deeply  the  felicity  of 
your  parents  depends  upon  your  early  piety* 
This  is  a  motive  which  Solomon  often  addresses  to 
youth.  «'  A  wise  son,"  (you  know  that  in  the 
scriptures  wise  and  pious  are  used  as  synonymous 
expressions,  because  piety  is  the  only  true  wisdom :) 
•(  A  wise  son  maketh  a  glad  father,  but  a  foolish  son 
is  the  heaviness  of  his  mother."  (Prov.  x.  1.)  And 
elsewhere,  "  A  foolish  son  is  a  grief  to  his  father 
and  bitterness  to  her  that  bare  him."  (Prov.  xvii. 
25.)  And  again  he  affectionately  urges,  "  My  son, 
be  wise  and  make  my  heart  glad,  that  I  may  answer 
him  that  reproacheth  me."  (Prov.  xxvii.  11.) 
These  and  numerous   other  exhortations  of  the 


SERMON  III.  45 

same  import  made  by  Solomon,  were  dictated  by 
his  experience.  He  had  seen  how  his  own  pious 
conduct  in  early  life,  had  cheered  the  heart  of  his 
father  David,  amidst  the  infirmities  and  sorrows  of 
age  ;  he  himself  had  felt,  from  the  conduct  of  Re- 
hoboam,  pains  so  deep,  that  they  could  not  be  ef- 
faced by  the  splendour  of  royalty,  the  pomp  of 
power,  the  respect  and  veneration  which  the  people 
entertained  for  him.  All  the  other  enjoyments  of  life 
were  embittered  and  rendered  tasteless  by  the  wan- 
derings of  an  irreligious  son.  My  young  friends, 
if  your  parents  are  sincerely  pious,  they  feel  a  regret 
equal  to  that  of  Solomon,  at  your  neglect  of  God, 
and  forgetfulness  of  your  eternal  destination.  Na- 
ture and  grace  have  taught  them  to  love  you  as 
themselves,  and  if  all  the  pleasures  which  the  earth 
can  afford  were  heaped  upon  them,  they  would  still 
be  unhappy,  if  their  child  were  the  slave  of  satan 
and  the  heir  of  eternal  sorrow.  Believe  me,  I  do 
not  exaggerate  their  feelings.  I  have  witnessed  in 
my  parochial  visits,  every  minister  has  witnessed  in 
his  parochial  visits,  more  than  once,  this  anguish  of 
a  tender  father,  these  tears  of  a  loving  mother  ;  an- 
guish, tears,  which  were  rendered  still  more  bitter 
by  the  reflection,  that  they  were  caused  by  those 
who  should  have  consoled  and  cheered  their  declin- 
ing years.  And  I  have  on  the  contrary  seen  the 
eye  of  the  aged  parent  lighted  up  with  joy,  and 
heard  him  pour  forth  his  thanksgivings  to  God,  at 
beholding  his  offspring  walking  in  the  path  of  good- 


46  SERMON  III. 

ness  and  religion.  When  he  beheld  the  morn  of 
their  life  thus  hallowed  and  consecrated  to  God,  the 
afflictions  of  life  lost  their  sting,  and  his  soul  was 
filled  with  transport. 

And  as  by  your  pious  or  irreligious  conduct,  you 
thus  affect  the  feelings  of  your  parents  during  the 
whole  course  of  their  lives  ;  so  do  you  especially 
prepare  for  them  sources  of  inexpressible  delight  or 
misery,  at  the  moment  when  death  shall  separate 
you  from  them.  If  you  should  enter  before  them 
into  the  unseen  world,  they  can  part  from  you  with- 
out regret  if  you  are  truly  devoted  to  God.  They 
know  that  this  separation  is  not  final ;  they  know 
that  they  shall  meet  you  in  a  better  world.  The 
view  of  that  glory  in  which  you  are  interested  will 
enable  them  to  say  to  you  with  christian  resigna- 
tion, "  Farewell,  our  dear  child  ;  we  had  hoped 
that  thou  wouldst  have  remained  to  have  closed 
our  eyes  and  received  our  last  breath  ;  but  God 
calls  thee  before  us ;  go  then  and  receive  the  crown 
of  glory;  go  and  rest  in  the  embraces  of  thy  Sa- 
viour ;  we  will  shortly  follow  thee  ;  we  will  meet 
thee  again  before  the  throne  of  God  ;  and  there  we 
shall  form  ties  more  tender  and  more  strict,  than 
those  which  united  us  on  earth ;  there  we  shall  en- 
joy a  felicity  pure  as  the  eternal  mind,  and  durable 
as  the  existence  of  God.  Go  then,  dear  child  ; 
thy  Saviour  beckons  thee  to  come  ;  the  angels  are 
waiting  to  convey  thy  soul  unto  him ;  adieu,  but 


SERMON  III.  47 

not  forever."  O  my  brethren,  what  powerful  con- 
solations are  these  to  a  believer,  when  his  offspring 
are  torn  from  him  by  death  ;  how  different  are 
these  feelings  from  those  which  wring  the  hearts 
of  parents  as  they  hang  over  the  death-bed  of  an 
irreligious  child.  In  trembling  anxiety  they  mark 
the  approach  of  his  dissolution  ;  his  closing  eye, 
his  livid  mouth,  the  death-like  paleness  spread 
over  his  whole  countenance,  teach  them  that  in  a 
few  moments  more,  his  destiny  will  be  fixed  for 
ever.  They  look  to  the  future,  but  no  cheering 
ray  consoles  them  ;  all  is  dark,  dismal,  and  afflic- 
tive ;  they  behold  their  child  torn  from  their  embra- 
ces, seized  by  the  fiends,  and  sentenced  to  that 
abyss  whence  "  the  smoke  of  his  torments  shall 
ascend  for  ever  and  ever."  Thus  keenly  op- 
pressed, they  lean  over  his  corpse,  and  exclaim  with 
a  heart  almost  broken  with  anguish,  "  Oh  !  Ab- 
salom, my  son,  my  son,  would  God  I  had  died 
for  thee  !"  Merciful  God,  be  present  to  such 
mourners,  for  thy  consolations  alone  can  prevent 
their  gray  hairs  from  descending  in  sorrow  to  the 
grave  ! 

The  feelings  of  your  parents  are  of  the  same 
force,  if,  as  is  the  common  order  of  nature,  they 
finish  their  lives  before  you.  If  you  are  truly  pious, 
they  can  leave  you  with  confidence  to  the  protec- 
tion of  your  heavenly  friend ;  upheld  by  the  hope, 
that  yon  will  be  honoured  and  respected  by  men, 


48  SERMON  III. 

and  at  last  acknowledged  and  received  by  the  Lord* 
Animated  by  this  hope,  they  will  be  serene  and 
happy  till  the  final  pulse  of  their  heart,  and  the  last 
trembling  accents  that  they  utter,  shall  bless  you 
for  that  ineffable  pleasure  which  your  pious  con- 
duct affords  to  them.  But  if,  when  you  surround 
your  dying  parents  you  are  still  in  your  sins,  you 
will  disturb  the  tranquillity  of  their  closing  hours, 
and  prevent  them  from  giving  up  their  souls  to  God 
with  that  serenity  and  triumph,  which  they  might 
otherwise  feel.  Afflicted  at  the  apprehension  of 
your  future  destiny,  fearful  that  you  will  plunge 
still  more  deeply  into  sin,  when  you  shall  no  longer 
be  restrained  by  their  tender  counsels  and  pious 
admonitions*  they  will  be  tortured  by  you^  by  their 
child  :  you,  whose  whole  study  and  occupation  it 
should  be  to  render  their  dying  hours  pleasant  and 
happy,  will  pierce  their  bosoms  with  sorrows  more 
excruciating  than  those  that  were  caused  by  their 
bitterest  enemies.  O  Saviour  !  thou,  who  when 
about  to  re-assume  thy  glory,  weptest  at  the  pros- 
pect of  the  sins  and  perdition  of  thy  much  beloved 
Jerusalem  ;  how  often  hast  thou  seen  poor  afflicted 
parents  about  to  receive  the  crown  of  immortality, 
yet  having  their  souls  racked  at  beholding  their  un- 
holy posterity  !  Ah !  perhaps  there  are  such  at 
this  moment  somewhere  stretched  on  the  bed  of 
languishment !  O  Saviour  !  haste  to  their  suc- 
cour, lest  they  be  driven  by  the  keenness  of  their 
tortures  to  revolt  and  to  murmur  at  thy  holy  will  I 


SERMON  III.  49 

My  brethren,  these  scenes  are  not  too  highly  co- 
loured. They  have  often  been  presented  to  those  of 
you  who  are  in  the  habit  of  attending  the  death-bed 
of  the  saints.  And  what  effect  shall  they  have  upon 
you,  my  young  friends  ?  Will  you  fail  to  be  moved 
by  the  sighs  and  distresses  of  a  tender  father,  by 
the  anguish  and  tears  of  the  mother  that  bore  you  ? 
Will  you  still  delight  in  grieving,  in  stabbing  them 
to  the  heart  ?  If  so,  pretend  not  to  the  sentiments 
of  humanity  ;  if  so,  renounce  the  name  of  mart 
which  you  so  much  dishonour.  But  if,  as  I  love> 
to  believe,  you  have  acted  thus  through  inconside- 
ratenesss  and  want  of  reflection,  pause  instantly  ; 
and  even  though  you  are  so  foolish  as  to  trifle  and 
sport  with  endless  perdition,  be  not  so  brutal  as  to 
trifle  and  sport  with  the  feelings  of  your  parents ; 
and  for  their  sakes,  if  not  for  your  own,  begin  to 
seek  early  the  God  of  your  fathers. 

My  brethren,  will  any  of  you  say,  in  order  to 
avoid  the  force  of  this  appeal  to  the  best  feelings  of 
your  nature — "  All  this,  though  true,  is  not  appli- 
cable to  me— my  parents  themselves  are  uncon- 
verted, and  have  not  these  feelings."  Woe,  woe, 
to  such  criminal  parents  !  they  shall  answer  not 
only  for  their  own  souls  ;  the  blood  of  their  chil- 
dren also  shall  be  required  at  their  hands !  But 
leaving  them  to  their  Judge,  let  us  enquire  whether 
filial  affection  will  riot  powerfully  urge  you  also  to 
seek  the  Lord;  although  your  parents  are  as  you 


SO  SERMON  III. 

Ray,  unconverted.  Yes,  if  you  will  turn  unto  the 
Lord,  you  will  save  them  from  accumulated  misery. 
Their  punishment,  though  it  be  solitary,  will  be 
inconceivably  severe,  when  they  are  enwrapped  in 
the  flames  of  the  abyss.  But  oh  !  if  they  meet 
you  there,  it  will  be  tenfold  more  excruciating. 
The  sight  of  you  will  kindle  in  their  breasts  an  in- 
ward hell.  At  sight  of  you,  conscience  will  speak 
to  them  in  a  voice  of  thunder,  and  reproach  them, 
that  worse  than  the  worshippers  of  Moloch,  they 
have  not  been  contented  with  their  own  perdition, 
unless  they  could  also  sacrifice  their  child  to  satan, 
and  devote  him  to  the  flames  :  Oh !  flee  in  time 
then  to  Jesus,  that  you  may  not  bring  down 
this  additional  punishment  on  the  heads  of  your 
parents.  Oh !  flee  in  time  to  Jesus,  and  you  may 
perhaps  be  made  the  instruments  of  saving  your 
parents  from  all  these  horrors.  I  recollect  that  it  is 
remarked  by  the  pious  Baxter,  that  "  at  Kidder- 
minster, where  God  most  blest  his  labours,  his  first 
and  greatest  success  was  amongst  the  youth  ;  and 
that  when  God  had  touched  their  hearts,  the  parents 
and  grand-parents,  who  had  grown  old  in  an  igno- 
rant, worldly  state,  were  many  of  them  savingly  con- 
verted unto  the  Lord."  Many  others,  besides  Bax- 
ter, have  seen  divine  mercy  operating  in  a  similar 
manner.  Oh !  my  brethren,  what  a  powerful  in- 
ducement is  this  !  Your  parents  gave  you  animal 
life  ;  you,  by  attending  to  the  concerns  of  piety, 
may  perhaps  be  made  the  instruments  of  their  spiri- 


SERMON  III,  51 

tual  life  :  Your  parents  have  brought  you  into  this 
fading  world  ;  you  may  perhaps  be  made  the^nstru- 
ments  of  raising  them  to  that  world  of  light,  where 
there  are  pleasures  for  ever  more.  Oh  !  if  you 
really  love  these  parents,  turn,  turn  unto  the  Lord, 
that  he  may  have  mercy  upon  t/ow,  and  that  he  may 
through  you,  "pluck  them  as  brands  from  the 
burning,'* 

Are  there  any  amongst  you  who  say,  this  motive 
still  does  not  address  me ;  my  parents  have  left  this 
earth,  and  their  destinies  are  already  fixed  and  im- 
mutable. Still  this  motive  does  address  you,  and 
address  you  with  force.  Are  your  parents  lost  and 
undone  ?  We  have  already  told  you,  that  you  will 
increase  their  torments  by  descending  to  join  them. 
From  the  bosom  of  the  pit  the  ungodly  rich  man 
cried  out,  "  I  pray  thee  father  Abraham,  to  send 
Lazarus  to  my  father's  house,  for  I  have  five  breth- 
ren, lest  they  also  come  into  this  place  of  torment." 
(Luke.  xvi.  28.)  If  your  parents  are  the  compan- 
ions of  this  rich  man,  they  also  supplicate  you  to 
avoid  their  lot ;  to  come  not  thither  to  aggravate 
their  sufferings.  Are  your  parents  among  the 
blest  ?  Remember  how  Jesus  hath  told  you  that 
"  there  is  joy  in  the  presence  of  the  angels  of  God, 
over  one  sinner  that  repenteth :"  (Luke.  xv.  10.) 
and  if  your  parents  are  amongst  these  angels, 
they  surely,  in  an  eminent  degree  participate  in 
this  joy.      Think  then,  that  perhaps  the  spirit  of 


&2  SERMON  III. 

thy  father,  of  thy  mother,  is  at  this  moment  regard- 
ing thee  with  tender  solicitude  ;  is  watching  wheth- 
er all  the  advices  they  have  given  to  thee,  all  the 
prayers  they  have  offered  for  thee,  all  the  sighs  and 
tears  which  thou  hast  forced  from  them,  shall  be 
of  no  avail ;  whether  thou  wilt  not  by  turning  un- 
to the  Lord,  bestow  on  them  a  new  sensation  of 
joy,  even  in  the  midst  of  paradise  ;  give  them  lib- 
erty to  entertain  the  hope  again  to  join  you,  when 
you  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  God,  and  to  exclaim 
with  transport — "  Return,  my  child  ;  return  to  my 
parental  embraces. " 

N^  V.  Finally,  (for  although  T  fear  I  have  already  ex- 

hausted  your  patience,  yet  I  cannot  resolve  to  leave 
you  without  urging  one  more  motive. :)  Finally,  on 
your  conduct  in  youth,  your  salvation  or  perdition^ 
almost  infallibly  depend.  I  Can  conceive  no  consi- 
deration more  impressive  than  this :  listen,  if  you 
please,  to  its  proof  and  illustration. 

If  you  do  not  in  your  youth  seek  the  God  of  your 
fathers,  a  prolongation  of  your  life  will  be  indis- 
pensably necessary  to  repair  this  neglect.  Are  you 
certain  that  your  life  will  be  thus  prolonged  ?  Have 
you  not  seen  thousands  whose  health  was  as  firm, 
whose  prospects  as  fair  as  yours,  cut  off  in  their 
bloom,  and  summoned  to  meet  their  Judge  in  the 
midst  of  their  schemes  of  future  amendment  ?  You 
act  as  though  you  were  assured  that  this  would  not 


SERMON  III.  £3 

be  your  lot ;  but  whence  have  you  derived  this  as- 
surance ?  Have  you  ascended  into  the  heavens,  and 
there  penetrated  into  the  counsels  of  that  God,  "  who 
holdeth  in  his  hands  the  keys  of  life  and  of  death  ;" 
who  hath  appointed  the  number  of  your  days  be* 
yond  which  you  cannot  pass  ?  Or  have  you  fettered 
the  hands  of  the  Almighty,  so  that  he  cannot  snatch 
you  hence  before  your  repentance?  Have  you,  if  I 
may  borrow  the  strong  language  of  Isaiah  ;  have 
you  "  made  a  covenant  with  death,"  that  he  shall 
not  yet  smite  you ;  "  an  agreement  with  hell," 
(Isaiah  xxviii.  15.)  that  it  shall  not  yet  swallow  you 
up  ?  No,  no;  you  like  the  rest  of  men  are  ignorant 
«f  the  duration  of  your  life  :  You  know  not  whether 
this  sun  that  enlightens  you,  shall  not  before  it  sets 
behold  you  a  corpse  ;  you  are  not  sure  but  that  the 
angel  of  death  has  already  received  his  commission, 
and  is  already  winging  his  flight  to  tear  your  unwil- 
ling soul  from  its  body,  and  bear  it  to  the  tribunal  of 
God,  to  sustain  there  all  the  holiness,  the  purity,  the 
strictness  of  his  judgment.  And  yet  in  so  perilous 
a  state,  you  are  cool  and  tranquil ; — and  yet  in  so 
dreadful  an  uncertainty  you  can  be  sportive  and  gay. 
When  your  body  is  attacked  by  a  disorder,  you  think 
not  of  deferring  till  to-morrow  the  remedies  which 
may  immediately  be  applied ;  when  your  house  is 
enwrapped  in  flames,  you  endeavour  without  delay 
to  extinguish  them  ;  but  when  your  soul  is  stricken 
by  the  mortal  malady  of  sin,  when  you  are  burning 
with  unholy  desires  and  preparing  to  be  consumed 


54  SERMON  III. 

in  the  flames  of  the  abyss  ;  you  cry,  that  at  some 
more  convenient  season  you  will  attend  to  these 
matters,  but  that  there  is  no  need  of  instant  anxiety 
and  attention.  God  of  our  lives  !  thou  only  know- 
est  whether  they  will  not  be  in  the  eternal  world,  be- 
fore this  anticipated  period  arrives. 

Let  us  however  suppose  for  a  moment  that  some 
friendly  hand  had  lifted  for  you  the  veil  of  futurity, 
and  removed  all  its  uncertainty ;  let  us  suppose  that 
God  had  revealed  to  you  that  you  should  yet  live 
fifty,  a  hundred,  or  a  thousand  years,  if  you  please  : 
still  it  is  by  no  means  probable  that  at  the  expiration 
of  this  term  you  would  be  willing  to  seek  the  Lord  and 
renounce  your  sin.  Sin  will  then  have  become  deeply 
habitual ;  its  chains  will  have  not  only  the  strength 
but  also  the  brilliant  lustre  of  the  adamant.  Your 
criminal  inclinations  will  be  fortified  by  frequent  ex- 
ercise and  by  guilty  example  ;  will  mingle  in  the 
whole  course  of  your  life,  and  become  incorporated 
into  your  very  essence  ;  your  understanding  will  be 
obscured  by  your  guilt,  and  those  false  reasonings 
which  you  shall  have  so  often  used  to  quiet  your 
fears,  will  appear  to  you  irrefragable  arguments ; 
your  conscience,  whose  monitions  you  shall  so  often 
have  rejected,  will  be  almost  silent,  and  will  reserve 
its  testimony  to  be  given  in  at  the  bar  of  your  Judge  ; 
your  heart  corrupted  by  sin,  will  be  devoid  of  all 
taste  for  pure  and  holy  pleasures ;  your  imagination 
whose  endless  illusions  you  shall  have  experienced, 


SERMON  III.  55 

will  occupy  itself  in  mustering  up  the  images  of 
past  pleasures,  to  furnish  new  aliment  to  the  flame 
that  devours  you,  and  to  re-animate  dying  passions. 
Is  it  conceivable  that  in  such  a  situation  you  will  be 
willing  and  disposed  to  forsake  your  sins  and  seek 
the  Lord ;  to  do  what  you  are  unwilling  to  do  now 
while  sin  is  less  habitual  and  less  endeared?  Is  it  not 
probable  that,  a  slave  in  the  fetters  which  your  own 
hands  shall  have  forged,  you  will  not  even  make  one 
struggle  to  deliver  yourself  from  them  ?  If  uncon- 
vinced by  this  reflection,  go  and  consult  experience. 
How  few  do  you  find  among  real  christians ;  how 
few  pious  persons  in  this  assembly  who  do  not  date 
the  period  of  their  conversion  from  their  youth : 
How  few  are  there  in  the  number  of  those  who 
hear  my  voice,  who  after  neglecting  to  seek  God 
in  their  youth  have  since  become  his  true  disciples  : 
How  many  aged  sinners  who  see  all  the  consequen- 
ces of  their  iniquities,  who  know  the  perdition  which 
awaits  them,  yet  still  love  their  crimes,  cling  to  them, 
refuse  to  separate  from  them.  Will  not  this  proba- 
bly be  your  lot  also  my  young  friends,  if  you  lon- 
ger neglect  to  seek  the  God  of  your  fathers  ? 

Will  you  say-—"  All  this  is  true  ;  of  ourselves 
we  shall  not  be  able  to  turn  to  God;  nevertheless  his 
grace  will  be  sufficient  to  dispose  and  enable  us  to 
do  it ;  there  is  no  resistance  which  it  cannot  over- 
come." God  forbid  that  a  minister  of  Christ  should 
deny  the  oninipoter.ee.  of  grace,  or  bound  the  power 


5>  SERMON  III. 

of  the  Most  High.  We  know  that  if  he  pleases 
"  he  can  of  the  stones  raise  up  children  to  Abra- 
ham." (Mat.  iii.  9.)  We  know  that  he  can  con- 
vert the  most  hardened  sinners  if  he  undertake  to 
do  ir,  if  he  interpose  in  their  behalf;  but  will  he 
thus  undertake,  will  he  thus  interpose,  if  you  now 
in  your  youth  neglect  to  seek  after  him  ?  This  is 
the  question  which  concerns  you  ;  let  us  examine 
what  answer  we   must  make  to  it. 

Grace  then  is  necessary  for  our  conversion. 
Nevertheless  scripture  and  reason  concur  in  teach- 
ing us  that  God,  in  righteous  judgement,  withholds 
the  internal  influences  of  this  grace  from  certain 
persons,  who  have  previously  abused  and  neglected 
it.  Grace  then  being  necessary  for  conversion,  and 
this  grace  being  withheld  from  these  sinners,  it  is 
•indubitable  that  they  must  be  scaled  up  in  judicial 
hardness,  and  remain  forever  unconverted.  My 
brethren,  I  view  this  as  the  most  awful  truth  of  our 
religion  ;  I  stop  not  to  prove  it ;  it  has  more  than 
once  been  established  from  this  sacred  desk ;  let 
us  apply  it  to  our  subject.  The  just  and  sovereign 
Jehovah  then  will  not  forever  bestow  the  secret  in- 
spirations of  his  grace  to  be  despised,  contemned, 
and  rejected  ;  those  who  now  impiously  refuse  it, 
and  contemptuously  neglect  it,  may  hereafter  seek 
for  it  in  vain.  And  say,  young  men,  have  you  not 
cause  to  fear  that  this  will  be  your  destiny,  if,  not* 
withstanding  the  warnings  that  are  given  you,  not- 


SERMON  III.  57 

withstanding  the  conviction  of  your  mind,  the  in- 
ward solicitations  of  your  conscience,  the  sugges- 
tions of  the  Holy  Spirit ;  you  form  the  frightful  re- 
solution to  give  the  strength  of  your  years  to  satan 
and  the  world,  contemptuously  to  reject  God,  and 
to  bring  to  him  at  last  the  dregs  of  a  life  exhausted 
in  the  service  of  his  enemies  ?  Have  you  not  cause 
to  fear  that  when  you  shall  have  acted  conformably 
to  these  resolutions,  and  shall  at  last  come  to  offer 
to  God  a  heart  infected  with  vices,  a  body  worn  out 
in  crime,  a  mind  filled  with  false  sentiments  ;  have 
you  not  cause  to  fear  that  he  will  then  refuse  you 
the  riches  of  his  grace,  and  denying  you  every 
mercy,  send  you  back  to  your  first  masters  whom 
you  have  always  served  ?  That  he  will  say  to  you — 
"  Go  to  that  world  to  which  you  have  consecrated 
your  youth  ;  let  it  rescue  you  from  the  grave  and 
from  perdition,  and  give  you  eternal  felicity.  Go 
to  sin,  your  tyrant,  let  him  give  you  the  wages  due 
unto  his  slaves,  death,  which  is  the  recompense 
that  he  pays  to  those  that  serve  him.  Go  to  the 
prince  of  darkness,  to  whom  you  have  sold  your- 
selves to  do  evil.  To  them  you  made  the  offering 
of  your  best  days  ;  give  them  also  what  remains  to 
you." 

Thus  whether  we  consider  the  uncertainty  of 
life,  or  the  increasing  power  of  sin,  or  the  bounds 
set  to  the  day  of  grace,  we  must  be  convinced  that 
forgetfulness  of  God  in  youth,  leads  almost  infalli- 
bly to  eternal  perdition. 

H 


58  SERMON  III 

And  now,  my  young  friends,  wili  you  still  re- 
main regardless  of  your  duty  ?  Will  you  not 
resolve  in  the  strength  of  the  Lord  to  relinquish 
your  worldly  life,  your  ungodly  habits,  your  sins 
and  iniquities  ?  Will  you  not  at  length  return  to 
your  God,  to  your  Father,  to  your  Redeemer  ?  Wili 
you  not  accept  that  mercy  which  is  offered  to  you  ? 
Sinner,  the  God  of  heaven  beholds  thee  ;  he  hears 
this  exhortation  which  I  now  make  unto  thee. 
Wilt  thou,  by  neglecting  this  invitation,  force  him 
to  take  hold  on  justice,  and  reject  thee  from  his 
presence  ?  Sinner,  the  eyes  of  Jesus  are  fixed  up- 
on thee  ;  of  that  Jesus  at  whose  bar  we  must  short- 
ly stand.  He  offers  to  deliver  thee  from  perdition  ; 
he  offers  thee  the  blessings  of  his  covenant.  O  !  tri- 
fle no  longer  with  eternity,  but  instantly  resolve  in 
dependence  on  his  promised  grace,  to  put  thy  soul 
under  the  bonds  of  his  covenant.  Go  to  thy  pri- 
vate chamber ;  there  on  thy  knees  bewail  thy  sins 
and  transgressions,  and  pray  for  grace  to  give  thy- 
self up  wholly  to  God. 

Act  thus,  and  with  Josiah  you  shall  be  gathered 
to  the  church  of  the  first-born  in  heaven,  where 
you  shall  shout  forever — "  Blessing  and  honour  and 
glory  and  power,  be  unto  him  that  sitteth  upon  the 
throne,  and  to  the  Lamb  for  ever  and  ever...,  amen." 


SERMON  IV. 


JESUS  WEEPING  OVER  JERUSALEM, 

Luke  xix.  41,  42. 

"And  xvhen  he  was  come  near,  he  beheld  the  city,  and 
wept  over  it,  saying — If  thou  hadst  known,  even  thou-, 
at  least  in  this  thy  day,  the  things  which  belong  un- 
to thy  peace !  But  now  they  are  hid  from  thine  eyes*'' 

WHEN  the  elder  Marcellus  had  taken  Sy- 
racuse, after  a  long  and  dangerous  siege,  he  was 
not  so  much  elated  by  the  success  of  his  arms, 
by  the  splendour  of  victory,  and  the  congratula- 
tions of  his  troops,  as  he  was  affected  by  the 
prospect  of  that  devastation  which  threatened  the 
city  ;  and  instead  of  insolently  triumphing,  he 
melted  into  tears.*  The  ancient  historians  have 
rightly  eulogised  this  action  :  It  was  an  unequivo- 
cal proof  of  a  tender,  feeling,  generous  soul. — 
But  "  a  greater  than"  Marcellus  "  is  here."  The 
conduct  of  our  Saviour  exhibits  still  warmer  ten- 
derness,  still   deeper  feeling,  still  more   elevated 

*  Marcellus,  ut  moenia  ingressus  ex  superioribus  locis  urbem, 
omnium  ferme  ilia  terapestate  pulcherrimam,  subjectam  oculis 
videt,  illachrymasse  fertur. 

Tit.  Liv.  Hiet.  Lib.  XV.— See  aleo  Plutarck, 


60  SERMON  IV. 

generosity.  He  was  now  descending  from  Mount 
Olivet,  and  entering  into  Jerusalem.  He  is  not 
surrounded,  it  is  true,  like  a  Roman  conqueror, 
by  kings  in  chains,  and  slaves  loaded  with  the 
spoils  of  vanquished  nations.  But,  what  is  infi- 
nitely more  splendid,  he  is  encircled  by  the  trophies 
of  his  almighty  power ;  by  demoniacs,  whom  he 
has  delivered  ;  by  the  blind,  on  whose  eyes  he  has 
poured  the  light  of  day  ;  by  the  dumb,  whose 
tongues  he  has  loosed,  and  who  shout  his  praises  ; 
by  the  dead,  whom  he  has  caused  to  spring  into  new 
life  :  He  advances  to  complete  the  conquest  of  satan 
and  of  sin,  whom  he  has  already  bound  in  fetters 
which  cannot  be  broken  :  He  comes,  loaded  with 
heavenly  spoils  and  celestial  gifts,  which  were  pur- 
chased not  by  the  sack  of  cities  and  the  dying 
groans  of  thousands,  but  entirely  by  his  own  hu- 
miliation, and  agonies,  and  blood.  The  multitude 
crowd  to  meet  him,  strew  their  garments  in  his 
path,  with  palms  in  their  hands  welcome  the  Prince 
of  peace,  and  shout  hosannas  to  the  son  of  David. 
These  circumstances  would  have  elated  an  ordi- 
nary mind,  and  filled  it  with  self-complacency  and 
pride  ;  but  in  the  midst  of  them  he  cast  his  eyes 
upon  the  city,  which  was  now  in  full  view,  and  an- 
ticipating its  impending  calamities,  tenderly  wept 
over  it  :  He  knew  that  in  a  few  days  it  would  de- 
mand  his  death,  it  would  nail  him  to  the  cross,  it 
would  riot  in  his  agonies ;  yet  he  still  wept  over 
it;     Compare  then  these  two  scenes  ;  place  Mar, 


SERMON  IV.  61 

cellus  by  the  side  of  the  Saviour ;  which  character 
shines  with  greater  lustre  ?  The  one  displays  no 
haughtiness,  although  a  mighty  city  has  yielded  to 
his  arms  :  the  other  is  humble,  although  he  has 
forced  the  laws  of  nature,  although  he  has  stormed 
and  vanquished  hell,  and  unbarred  the  gates  of 
heaven  for  our  reception.  The  one  weeps  over 
depressed,  trembling,  subjugated  foes,  who  will 
not  insult  and  who  cannot  injure  him  :  The  other 
weeps  over  those  who,  he  certainly  knows,  will  in 
a  few  days  cover  him  with  reproaches  and  igno- 
minies, torture  him  by  the  most  refined  cruelties, 
and  inflict  upon  him  a  painful,  and  accursed  death. 
Yes  !  I  repeat  it ;  "a  greater  than"  Marcellus  "  is 
here."  If  Marcellus  acted  as  a  generous  man, 
Christ  acted  as  a  God-man.  "  And  when  he  was 
come  near,  he  beheld  the  city  and  wept  over  it, 
saying — If  thou  hadst  known,  even  thou,  at  least 
in  this  thy  day,  the  things  that  belong  to  thy  peace  ! 
but  now  they  are  hid  from  thine  eyes." 

Come  then,  my  brethren,  let  us  carefully  con- 
template the  conduct  and  expressions  of  our  Lord 
on  this  occasion  ;  and  whilst  we  are  thus  employ- 
ed, grant,  most  merciful  Jesus,  that  we  may  not  be 
insensible  to  thy  tears,  but  may  be  induced  to  la- 
ment those  transgressions  which  caused  thee  to 
weep,  and  savingly  to  improve  the  day  of  our  visit- 
ation. 


62  SERMON  IV. 

Our  discourse  shall  have  two  parts  : — We  Will 

I.  Explain  to  you  the  causes  of  the  Saviour's 
tears,  and  the  purport  of  the  words  which  he 
uttered  ;  and 

II.  We  will  deduce  from  these  tears  and  these 
"words,  some  important  truths,  in  which  we  are 
deeply  interested. 

I.  "  When  he  beheld  the  city,  he  wept  over 
it."  Are  you  surprised  to  see  the  Saviour  weep  ? 
Do  you  suppose  this  a  weakness  inconsistent 
with  his  dignity  and  elevation  ?  Thus  thought 
a  sect  of  ancient  heretics,  mentioned  by  eccle- 
siastical historians,  who  erased  from  their  copies 
of  the  scriptures,  all  those  parts  which  speak  of 
the  tears  of  Jesus.  I  know  not  whether  more 
to  admire  their  presumption  or  their  folly ;  their 
presumption,  in  daring  to  alter  the  perfect  char- 
acter of  Jesus ;  their  folly  in  supposing  that  the 
Saviour  would  be  more  noble,  if  he  were  dives- 
ted of  his  overflowing  benevolence,  and  endued 
with  a  stoical  apathy.  If  the  tears  of  Jesus  had 
been  wrung  from  him  by  his  own  distresses, 
they  would  perhaps  have  displayed  some  weak- 
ness. But  he  always  met  his  own  woes  with  a 
firm  soul  and  a  dry  eye.  When  arraigned  at 
a  criminal  bar  ;  when  buffeted,  insulted,  scourg- 
ed, he  is  undaunted  and  serene  ;  when  labour- 
ing under   the  weight  of  his    cross,    and    in  the 


SERMON  IV.  63 

prospect  of  immediate  execution,  he  says  to  the 
afflicted  spectators,  with  an  unfaltering  voice, 
"Weep  not  for  me;  weep  for  yourselves."  No, 
no !  his  tears  never  flowed  but  from  his  sympa- 
thy with  the  unhappy  or  perishing ;  they  attest 
his  grace,  they  endear  him  to  the  believer  ;  and 
I  had  far  rather  that  the  most  splendid  of  his 
miracles  should  be  erased  from  the  sacred  volume, 
than  that  we  should  be  ignorant  that  Jesus 
wept. 

But  what  were  those  circumstances  which  caus- 
ed the  tears  to  gush  from  his  eyes  at  this  time  ? 
These  three  :  1.  The  prospect  of  the  temporal  ca- 
lamities which  hung  over  Jerusalem.  «2.  The  con- 
sideration of  those  sins  of  which  these  calamities 
were  the  punishment,  and  of  that  eternal  destruc- 
tion of  which  they  were  the  emblem.  3.  The  re- 
flection that  the  time  in  which  it  was  possible  to 
avert  these  woes  had  now  past. 

1.  That  the  Saviour  had  regard  to  the  temporal 
calamities  which  were  just  descending  on  this  de- 
voted city,  is  evident  from  the  verses  immediately 
following  the  text :  "  For  the  days  shall  come  upon 
thee,  that  thine  enemies  shall  cast  a  trench  about 
thee,  and  compass  thee  round,  and  keep  thee  in  on 
every  side,  and  shall  lay  thee  even  with  the  ground, 
and  thy  children  within  thee ;  and  they  shall  not 
leave  in  thee  one  stone  upon  another,  because  thou 


64  SERMON  IV. 

knewest  not  the  time  of  thy  visitation."     Possessed 
of  infinite  knowledge,  seeing  the  future  as  distinct- 
ly as  the  present,  he  already  beheld  those  fearful 
scenes  which  attended  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem, 
and  of  which  the  Jewish  historian  has  given  us  so 
lamentable  a  description.      He  saw  war  mowing 
down  thousands,  and  famine  and  sedition  destroy- 
ing those  whom  war  had  spared.     He  saw  the 
flames  seizing  upon  the  towers,  the  walls,  the  habi- 
tations, and  not  respecting  even  the  temple  of  God. 
He  saw  those  countless  numbers  which  were  put 
to  the  sword ;  those  carcases  heaped  upon  carcases ; 
those  waves  of  blood  which  deluged  the  city.     He 
saw  those  eleven  hundred  thousand  persons  who 
perished  during  this  season  of  distress ;  the  hun- 
dred  thousand   persons    who    were    loaded  with 
chains,  and    carried  into   painful  captivity.      All 
these  miseries  and  many  others  which  befel  Jerusa- 
lem, before  it  was  utterly  destroyed,  were  present 
to  the  view  of  the  Redeemer.     Was  it  then  won- 
derful that  he  poured  forth  his  tears  ? 

2.  But  this  was  not  the  only,  nor  even  the  prin- 
cipal cause  of  the  tears  of  the  Saviour.  Combin- 
ing the  cause  with  the  effect ;  beholding  not  only 
these  temporal  judgments,  but  also  the  iniquities 
of  which  they  were  the  punishment ;  seeing  the 
eternal  torments  which  awaited  these  unhappy  men 
in  the  world  of  spirits,  as  well  as  the  woes  which 
they  would  endure  on  this  side  the  grave  ;  regard- 


SERMON  IV.  65 

ing  sin  as  the  greatest  of  evils,  and  the  everlasting 
agonies  of  the  soul  as  far  more  lamentable  than  the 
transient  sufferings  of  this  life  ;  it  is  evident  that 
the  principal  cause  of  his  tears  was  the  prospect  of 
those  sins,  which  drew  down  these  temporal  ca- 
lamities, and  of  that  future  punishment,  of  which 
they  were  only  the  earnests.  He  saw  the  obstina- 
cy, the  impenitence,  the  hardness  of  heart,  the 
numberless  crimes  of  the  Jewish  people  :  he  saw 
the  deep  guilt  of  iniquity  :  he  saw  the  hell  which 
was  prepared  for  those  who  persist  in  it.  No  veil 
interposed  between  his  eyes  and  the  future ;  he  be- 
held these  things,  not  in  distant  prospect,  but  as 
already  happening.  Already  he  saw  these  wretch- 
ed men  condemned ;  already  he  beheld  them  en- 
wrapped in  the  flames.  Was  it  surprising  that  he 
should  weep  at  scenes  so  doleful  ?  If  David  pour> 
ed  forth  his  tears  for  the  death  of  one  rebellious 
son,  much  more  would  the  compassionate  Lord  of 
David  weep  at  the  eternal  perdition  of  so  many 
thousands. 

3.  Still  there  would  have  been  less  cause  for 
grief,  if  an  opportunity  of  averting  these  judg- 
ments had  remained  unto  them.  But  this  opportu- 
nity was  forever  lost.  They  had  neglected  the 
time  of  their  visitation,  and  the  things  which  be- 
longed to  their  peace  were  hidden  from  their  eyes. 
They  had  filled  up  the  measure  of  their  iniquities'; 
the  mercy  of  God  had  ceased  to  plead  for  them  ; 

I 


QC  SERMON  IV. 

justice  had  raised  its  arm,  red  with  vengeance,  to 
dart  its  thunders ;  their  sentence  had  been  pro- 
nounced, and  it  was  irrevocable.  Oh  !  how  must 
this  consideration  have  affected  the  compassionate 
heart  of  the  Saviour  ! 

Such  then  were  the  causes  of  the  tears  which  Je- 
sus shed  over  Jerusalem  :  But  he  not  only  wept,  he 
likewise  uttered  this  pathetic  lamentations  "  Jf  'thou 
hadst  knozvn,  even  thou,  at  least  in  this  thy  day, 
the  things  which  belong  to  thy  peace — But  now  they 
are  hid  from  thine  eyes."  What  could  he  possi- 
bly have  said  that  would  have  been  more  expres- 
sive or  affecting  ?  He  begins  a  sentence,  but  over- 
come by  the  violence  of  his  feelings  cannot  finish . 
it,  and  leaves  the  imagination  to  supply  what  the 
tongue  cannot  utter.  There  is  not  a  word  but 
what  speaks  to  the  heart.  "  If  thou  hadst  known, 
even  thou."  There  is  in  this  repetition,  a  touch- 
ing tenderness,  and  force  of  expostulation.  It  is 
as  though  Jesus  had  said,  I  am  less  grieved  and 
surprised  at  the  iniquities  of  other  nations,  to  which 
I  have  manifested  less  affection,  and  on  which  I 
have  conferred  fewer  privileges :  But  thou,  much- 
favoured,  much- beloved  Zion  ;  thou,  who  hast 
been  the  seat  of  my  temple,  the  habitation  of  my 
prophets,  the  sanctuary  of  my  religion,  the  receiver 
of  my  mercies  ;  thou,  whom  I  have  always  watch- 
ed, and  nourished,  and  blessed  ;  wilt  thou,  even 
thoUf   criminally  neglect  thy  privileges,  and  obsti- 


SERMON  IV.  67 

natelyrush  on  to  perdition.     "  If  thou  hadst  known 
even  thou,  at  least  in  this  thy  day"  i.  e.  in  that 
period  when  God  still  proffered  salvation  to  thee  ; 
when  the  patience  of  the  Lord  was  not  yet  exhaus- 
ted ;  when  the  dreadful  sentence  had  not  yet  been 
pronounced,  "  Let  him  that  is  filthy  be  filthy  still:'' 
(Rev.  xxii.  11.)    "  Ephraim  is  joined  to  idols,  let 
him  alone :"  (Hos.  iv.  17.)  "  Because  I  have  purg- 
ed thee,  and  thou  wast  not  purged,  therefore  I  will 
not  purge  thee  from  thy  sins  any  more  till  I  cause 
my  fury  to  rest  upon  thee:"  (Ezek.  xxiv.  13.)  This 
day,  for  Jerusalem  had  now  past ;  the  prediction  of 
the  prophet  was  now  to  be  accomplished  :  "  The 
time  is  come,  the  day  of  trouble  is  near.     Now 
will  I  shortly  pour  out  my  fury  upon  thee,  and  ac- 
complish mine  anger  upon  thee.     And  mine  eye 
shall  not  spare,  neither  will  I  have  pity,  and  ye  shall 
know  that  I  am  the  Lord  that  smiteth."  (Ezek.  vii. 
7,  8,  9.) 

"  If  thou  hadst  known,  even  thou,  the  things 
that  belong  to  thy  peace  .*"  i.  e.  if  thou  hadst  dili- 
gently considered,  and  earnestly  sought  those  things 
which  would  have  procured  for  thee  the  peace  and 
favour  of  God,  his  protection  from  thine  enemies 
on  earth,  and  his  glories  and  love  in  the  world 
which  is  to  come. 

"  But  now  they  'are  hid  from  thine  eyes" — 
How  is  this,  my  brethren  ?    Had  not  the  inhabit- 


68  SERMON  IV. 

ants  of  Jerusalem  after  this  period,  any  of  the 
means  of  grace  ?  Did  God  from  this  time  cease 
to  call  them  to  himself  by  the  preaching  of  the 
apostles,  and  the  course  of  his  providence  ?  We 
know  that  even  after  the  death  of  Jesus,  the  apos- 
tles remained  in  the  midst  of  the  city,  working 
miracles  in  its  streets,  proclaiming  the  atonement 
made  by  Christ,  and  exhorting  the  people  to  V  re- 
pent and  be  baptized  for  ihe  remission  of  their 
sins,"  And  if  we  believe  the  Jews  themselves, 
in  proportion  as  the  time  for  the  destruction  of  the 
city  approached,  God  wrought  new  and  more  sur- 
prising prodigies  in  heaven  and  on  earth,  to  reclaim 
them.  How  then  could  it  be  said  that  the  things 
which  belonged  to  their  peace,  were  hidden  from 
their  eyes  ?  These  facts  are  not  at  all  inconsistent 
with  this  declaration  of  the  Saviour.  For  these 
.-warnings,  remonstrances,  exhortations,  miracles, 
would  be  ineffectual  to  remove  the  darkness  which 
rested  on  the  minds  of  the  Jews,  unless  they  were 
accompanied  by  the  influences  of  divine  grace. 
This  grace,  God,  provoked  by  their  continued  im- 
penitence, was  resolved  to  withhold ;  and  in  con- 
sequence of  this  righteous  procedure,  the  things 
that  belonged  to  the  peace  of  the  Jews  were  hidden 
from  their  eyes,  even  whilst  the  light  of  divine 
truth  was  shining  with  lustre  around  them.  "  And 
when  he  came  near,  he  beheld  the  city  and  wept 
over  it,  saying — If  thou  liadst  known,  even  thou, 
at  least   in  this  thy  day   the  things  which  belong 


SERMON  IV.  <39 

unto  thy  peace!    But  now  they  are  hid  from  thine 
eyes." 

Having  thus  explained  to  you  the  text,  let  us 
now 

II.  Deduce  from  it  two  truths  in  which  we  are 
most  deeply  interested. 

1.  The  day  of  grace  has  its  limits,  and  if  we 
pass  beyond  them  before  our  peace  is  made  with 
God,  our  destruction  is  remediless. 

2.  The  Redeemer  is  desirous  that  we  should 
not,  by  our  criminal  neglect  of  this  precious  sea- 
son, bring  upon  ourselves  this  destruction. 

1.  The  day  of  grace  has  its  limits,  and  if  we 
pass  beyond  them  before  our  peace  is  made  with 
God,  our  destruction  is  remediless. 

The  text  proves  in  the  clearest  manner,  that 
this  was  the  case  with  respect  to  Jerusalem.  It  as- 
sures us,  that  all  those  things  which  belonged  to 
the  temporal  and  eternal  peace  of  this  city,  were 
granted  to  it  for  a  certain  limited  time,  called  its 
day  of  visitation  ;  that  because  the  Jews  despised 
during  this  determinate  period,  the  means  of  sal- 
vation which  God  bestowed  upon  them,  they  there- 
fore were  consigned  to  utter  destruction  ;  and 
though  Jesus  and  his  apostles  afterwards  preached 


7&  SERMON  IV. 

within  their  walls,  yet  that  grace  which  alone  eould 
render  these  discourses  effectual,  was  withheld 
from  them  through  the  righteous  judgment  of 
God. 

There  are  numberless  passages  of  scripture 
which  shew  us  that  the  conduct  which  God  observ- 
ed to  Jerusalem,  is  that  which  he  generally  observes 
towards  our  race.  Read  that  familiar  and  striking 
comparison  employed  by  St.  Paul,  (Heb.  vi.  7,  8.) 
"  The  earth  which  drinketh  in  the  rain  that  cometh 
oft  upon  it,  and  beareth  thorns  and  briars,  is  reject- 
ed, and  is  nigh  unto  cursing,  whose  end  is  to  be 
burned."  This  earth  is  man  ;  the  rain  which  falls 
upon  it,  and  the  other  cares  which  are  employed  by 
the  husbandman,  are  the  means  of  grace  which  he 
enjoys.  If  this  man  for  a  long  season,  give  to  God 
as  all  the  fruit  of  his  culture,  only  thorns  and  briars ; 
that  is  to  say,  if  he  remain  disobedient,  notwith- 
standing all  his  spiritual  advantages,  he  is  rejected 
and  abandoned  by  God,  falls  under  the  curse,  and 
in  future  has  nothing  to  expect  but  to  be  sen- 
tenced to  devouring  flames. 

Consider  the  12th  chapter  of  St.  John.  This 
apostle  there  tells  us,  that  although  "Jesus  did 
many  miracles,  yet  the  Jews  believed  not  on  him, 
that  the  saying  of  Isaiah  might  be  accomplished, 
Lord,  who  hath  believed  our  report  and  to  whom 
hath' the  arm  of  the  Lord  been  revealed:"  and  he 


SERMON  IV.  71 

adds  that  "they  could  not  believe,  because  Isaiah 
had  said  again — He  hath  blinded  their  eyes  and 
hardened  their  hearts,  that  they  should  not  sec  with 
their  eyes,  nor  understand  with  their  heart,  lior  be 
converted."  (John  xii.  37,  40.)  Here  then  are 
miracles  which  do  not  convince  those  who  are  the 
witnesses  of  them  ;  and  which  do  not  have  this 
effect,  because  in  consequence  of  the  long  obstina- 
cy of  this  people,  God  "  has  blinded  their  minds 
and  hardened  their  hearts  ;"  that  is,  (in  conformity 
with  the  scriptural  mode  of  speaking,  by  which 
God  is  said  to  do  that  which  he  does  not  interpose 
to  prevent)  has  righteously  resolved  to  withhold 
from  them  that  grace  which  would  have  enlighten- 
ed and  softened  them. 

Listen  to  that  exhortation  of  Isaiah  (lv.  6.)  "Seek 
the  Lord  while  he  may  be  found,  call  upon  him 
while  he  is  near."  Does  it  not  clearly  imply  that 
there  is  a  time  when  the  Lord  is  no  longer  near 
men  ;  when  he  will  not  be  found  by  them  ? 

Attend  to  the  solemn  representation  given  us  in 
the  3d  and  12th  chapters  to  the  Hebrews,  where  the 
oath  of  God  to  Israel,  and  the  conduct  of  Isaac  to 
Esau,  are  represented  as  typical  of  the  divine  pro- 
cedure towards  sinners  of  the  present  day.  The 
children  of  Israel,  instead  of  obeying  the  revela- 
tions, and  being  melted  by  the  mercies  of  God, 
tempted,  grieved,  and  provoked  him  for  forty  years; 


72  SERMON  IV. 

and  then  the  Lord  wearied  with  their  rebellions^ 
"  sware  in  his  wrath,  that  they  should  not  enter  into 
his  rest."  Esau  at  first  despised  the  blessing  ;  and 
afterwards  in  vain  endeavoured  to  obtain  it ;  for 
"  when  he  would  have  inherited  it,  he  was  rejected, 
though  he  sought  it  carefully  with  tears."  "  These 
things  happened  unto  them  for  ensamples  ;  and  they 
are  written  for  our  admonition,  upon  whom  the 
ends  of  the  world  are  come." 

Listen  to  the  divine  Wisdom,  asserting  in  the 
1st  chapter  of  the  Proverbs,  the  rejection  of  those 
who  have  long  trifled  with  the  admonitions  and  re- 
proofs of  God.  "  Because  I  have  called,  and  ye 
refused ;  I  have  stretched  out  my  hand,  and  no  man 
regarded  :  But  ye  have  set  at  nought  all  my  coun- 
sel, and  would  none  of  my  reproof:  I  also  will 
laugh  at  your  calamity  ;  I  will  mock  when  your  fear 
cometh  :  When  your  fear  cometh  as  desolation, 
and  your  destruction  cometh  as  a  whirlwind  ;  when 
distress  and  anguish  cometh  upon  you  :  Then 
shall  they  call  upon  me,  but  I  will  not  answer ;  they 
shall  seek  me  early  but  they  shall  not  find  me  :  For 
that  they  hated  knowledge,  and  did  not  choose  the 
fear  of  the  Lord  :  They  would  none  of  my  coun- 
sel;  they  despised  all  my  reproof :  Therefore  shall 
they  eat  of  the  fruit  of  their  own  way,  and  be  filled 
with  their  own  devices."     (Prov.  i.  24 — 31.) 

But  it  would  be  impossible  to  enumerate  all  those 


SERMON  IV.  73 

passages  which  declare,  that  "  the  Spirit  of  God 
shall  not  always  strive  with  man  ;"  (Gen.  vi.  3. )  that 
this  Spirit  may  not  only  be  grieved,  and  resisted, 
but  entirely  quenched  ;  (1  Thes.  v.  19.)  that  those 
who  perse veringly  refuse  to  hearken  to  the  voice 
of  the  Lord,  are  by  him  "  given  up  unto  their  own 
hearts  lusts,  to  walk  in  their  own  counsels  ;"  (Ps. 
lxxxi.  12.)  that  those  who,  "  when  they  know 
God,  glorify  him  not  as  God,  neither  are  thankful, 
are  often  given  up  to  vile  affections,  and  to  a  re- 
probate mind  ;"  (Rom.  i.  21,  26,  28.)  that  on  those 
who  "  receive  not  the  love  of  the  truth,  that  they 
may  be  saved,  but  have  pleasure  in  unrighteous- 
ness, God  sends  strong  delusion  that  they  should 
believe  a  lie,  that  they  all  might  be  damned.-— 
(2  Thes.  ii.  10,  11,  12.) 

It  is  then  evident  that  the  day  of  grace  has  its 
bounds,  and  is  succeeded  by  a  dark,  a  fearful,  a 
stormy  night.  It  is  then  evident  that  the  divine 
patience  has  its  limits  ;  that  the  holy  and  sovereign 
God  will  not  forever  permit  his  secret  inspirations 
and  the  suggestions  of  his  Spirit  to  be  rejected  and 
treated  with  disdain. 

Do  you  ask  me  to  point  out  the  precise  bounds 
of  this  day  ?  I  acknowledge  that  I  cannot  do  it. 
This  is  one  of  the  secrets  which  God  hath  reserv- 
ed to  himself.      We  know  in  general  that  these 

bounds   are    different    to    different   persons.      In 

K 


74  SERiMON  IV. 

some  cases  this  clay  extends  even  to  the  close 
of  life  ;  but  in  other  instances,  and  especially 
among  those  who  have  had  high  spiritual  privileges, 
it  probably  often  terminates  by  the  middle  of  our 
days.  On  this  subject  it  becomes  us  to  speak  with 
caution  and  reserve  ;  but  still  let  me  be  permitted 
to  remark  that  there  are  certain  persons  who  almost 
touch  those  limits,  passing  beyond  which,  the  things 
that  belong  to  their  peace  will  be  forever  hidden 
from  their  eyes.  The  persons  to  whom  I  allude, 
are  those  who  have  been  faithfully  instructed  in 
their  duty  ;  who  have  enjoyed  in  a  high  degree  the 
common  operations  of  the  Holy  Spirit ;  who  have 
had  deep  and  powerful  convictions  of  their  guilt ; 
who  have  been  filled  with  apprehension  and  terror 
at  the  punishment  which  they  deserved  ;  who  have 
cried  to  God  to  have  mercy  upon  them  ;  who  have 
solicitously  enquired  of  the  pious,  "  What  shall 
we  do  to  be  saved?" — but  who  now  have  relapsed 
into  more  than  their  former  coldness  ;  have  aban- 
doned the  exercises  of  devotion,  live  secure  in 
known  sin,  and  feeling  no  disquietude  at  their  aw- 
ful condition,  jest  at  the  most  sacred  truths  of  re- 
ligion, and  indulge  an  enmity  against  holiness, 
against  the  pious,  against  all  that  reprove  or  warn 
them.  Such  persons  have  indeed  sad  cause  to  ap- 
prehend that  their  day  is  on  the  decline,  that  the 
shadows  of  evening  are  fast  overtaking  them. 

My  brethren,  when  we  press  you  from  time  to 


SERMON  IV.  75 

time,  to  think  of  your  everlasting  interests,  you  se- 
cretly flatter  yourselves  that  your  health  and  life 
will  still  for  a  long  time  be  continued  to  you,  and 
that  you  will  have  sufficient  leisure  hereafter  to  at- 
tend to  the  concerns  of  your  soul.  I  will  not  now 
tell  you  how  dreadfully  imprudent  is  this  delay  of 
repentance  to  a  period  which  may  never  arrive  :  I 
will  not  point  to  the  repository  of  the  dead,  and 
shew  you  the  worm  and  putrefaction  preying  upon 
the  mouldering  carcases  of  those  who  like  you,  de- 
ferred their  duty,  intending  afterwards  to  turn 
to  the  Lord  ;  but  who  were  surprised  by  death, 
and  whose  souls  are  now  "  suffering  the  vengeance 
of  eternal  fire."  What  if  you  were  certain  of  at- 
taining even  a  patriarchal  age,  would  this  justify 
you  in  delaying  repentance  ?  Tell  me,  unhappy 
man,  art  thou  assured  that  the  day  of  thy  grace 
will  continue  to  the  day  of  thy  death  ?  Hast  thou 
read  those  secret  counsels  of  God  which  Gabriel 
himself  has  not  beheld,  and  discovered  that  the 
Almighty  Lord  of  heaven  and  earth  will  patiently 
wait  thy  leisure  till  thy  last  sigh ;  will  consent  to 
be  slighted  and  despised  by  thee,  a  worm,  till  thy 
final  groan  ? 

I  cannot  without  shuddering,  look  around  on  you, 
my  brethren,  and  think  that  there  are  perhaps  some 
in  this  assembly,  to  whom  this  may  be  the  last 
mean  of  grace  which  God  will  accompany  by  his 
influences  on  them  ;  some  to  whom  the  Spirit  is  per- 


76  SERMON  IV. 

haps  now  giving  his  last  excitement*  on  the  rejec- 
tion of  which  he  will  forever  depart,  and  the  desti- 
ny of  these  wretched  men  be  irreversibly  fixed ; 
some  who  may  henceforth  stand  like  the  blasted 
fig-tree,  only  to  wither  and  be  burnt,  having  that 
awful  curse  denounced,  "  Let  no  fruit  grow  on 
you  forever  :"  (Mat.  xxi.  18.)  some,  on  whom,  as 
•n  the  foolish  delaying  virgins,  the  door  of  divine 
mercy  is  about  forever  to  be  closed,  and  whose 
lives  will  be  continued  like  that  of  Pharaoh,  only  to 
glorify  the  power  and  the  justice  of  God — some, 
in  one  word,  to  whom  it  would  be  an  unspeakable 
blessing,  if  God  should  instantly  plunge  them  into 
the  gulph  of  despair,  since  their  flames  would  be 
far  less  hot,  their  woes  far  less  excruciating,  than 
they  will  hereafter  be.  God  of  vengeance  !  "  my 
flesh  trembleth  for  fear  of  thee,  and  I  am  afraid 
of  thy  judgments  !"  Father  of  mercies !  forbid 
that  any  of  us  should  experience  so  fearful  a 
doom. 

And  if  you  should  be  excited  to  attend  to  the 
concerns  of  piety  by  motives  so  terrible,  so  also 
should  you  be  allured  to  it  from  considering, 

2.  That  the  Redeemer  is  desirous  that  you 
should  not,  by  a  criminal  neglect  of  this  precious 
season,  bring  upon  yourselves  this  destruction. 

This  is  sufficiently  proved  by  the  tears  which  he 
shed  over  perishing  sinners,     They  were  not  an 


SERMON  IV.  77 

ostentatious  display  of  unreal  feeling,  for  "  he  never 
knew  guile."  Though  he  no  longer  is  accessible 
to  grief;  though  no  sorrow  enters  into  the  kingdom 
of  unmingled  bliss  ;  though  no  tears  are  shed  upon 
the  throne  of  glory,  yet  he  still  urges  you  not  to 
neglect  the  day  of  your  visitation. 

Can  you  doubt  of  this,  when  you  remember  the 
names  "  full  of  grace"  which  he  bears,  the  intent 
of  his  incarnation,  the  tender  invitations  and  en- 
couraging promises  he  has  given  you,  the  sufferings 
that  he  underwent  for  your  salvation,  and  the  wel- 
come reception  which  he  has  given  to  every  sinner, 
ivho  has  fled  to  him  for  safety. 

Listen  also  to  the  language  which  he  uses  as  God. 
When  he  beholds  sinners  scorning  his  proffered 
grace,  and  obstinately  rushing  on  to  destruction, 
what  is  his  conduct  ?  Does  he  instantly  dart  forth 
his  thunders,  and  sink  them  in  despair  ?  No  !  he 
affectionately  cries,  "  O  that  they  were  wise,  that 
they  understood  this,  that  they  would  consider  their 
latter  end :"  (Deut.  xxxii.  29.)  "  Oh  that  my  peo- 
ple had  hearkened  unto  me  :"  (Ps.  lxxxi.  13.) 
"  Turn  ye,  turn  ye  from  your  evil  ways  ;  for  why 
will  ye  die  :"  (Ezek.  xxxiii.  11.)  "  How  shall  I 
give  thee  up,  Ephraim  ?  How  shall  I  deliver  thee, 
Israel  ?  How  shall  I  make  thee  as  Admah  ?  How 
shall  I  set  thee  as  Zeboim  ?    Mine  heart  is  turned 


78  SERMON  IV. 

within  me  ;  my  repentings  are  kindled  together  :" 
(Hos.  xi.  8.)  Hear  again  the  solemn  assurance  of 
God's  holy  word,  that  the  Lord  "  is  not  willing 
that  any  should  perish  ;  but  that  all  should  come 
to  the  knowledge  of  the  truth  :"  (2  Pet.  iii.  9.)— 
and  lest  this  assurance  should  not  satisfy  us,  con- 
firming it  by  his  oath,  saying,  "  As  I  live,  saith  the 
Lord,  I  have  no  pleasure  in  the  death  of  the  wick- 
ed, but  that  the  wicked  turn  from  his  way  and 
live  :"  (Ezek.  xxxiii.  11.)  It  is  true  that  these  ex- 
pressions are  to  be  understood  in  a  sense  worthy  of 
infinite  perfection,  and  so  as  to  exclude  from  the 
divinity  any  disappointment  or  sorrow.  But  even 
with  these  limitations,  do  they  not  convince  you 
that  the  Redeemer,  who  now  appears  as  "  the 
mighty  God,"  having  "  all  power  committed  to 
him  in  heaven  and  on  earth,"  desires  not  the  sins  or 
the  miseries  of  man  ? 

Do  not  suppose  however,  that  because  he  en- 
tertains such  sentiments  towards  you,  he  will  save 
you,  though  you  continue  impenitent.  His  com- 
passion is  not  a  weak  sorrow  which  interferes  with 
the  claims  of  justice.  He  pities  you  as  he  pitied 
Jerusalem  ;  if  you  like  it  remain  impenitent,  the 
sword  of  vegeance  shall  descend  upon  you  as  it 
did  upon  this  city  ;  and  the  remembrance  of  your 
Saviour's  compassion  shall  only  aggravate  your 
torment,  and  shall  constitute  the  very  hell  of  helL 


SERMON  IV.  79 

O  then  in  time,  weep  with  your  weeping  Saviour. 
Be  not  insensible  to  the  tears  of  Immanuel.  Let 
them  not  find  the  same  hardness  in  your  hearts  as 
they  did  in  thoss  of  the  Jews.  Let  the  terrors  and 
mercies  of  the  Lord,  both  of  which  are  presented 
to  you  in  this  event,  urge  you  to  turn  to  him.  If 
these  motives  do  not  affect  you,  religion  has  no  oth- 
ers to  offer  you,  and  all  that  we  can  do  is  to  mingle 
our  tears  with  those  of  our  Saviour,  in  weeping 
over  your  destiny. 

But  if  on  the  contrary,  you  are  now  resolved  to 
renounce  your  sins,  and  instantly  to  devote  your- 
selves to  the  Lord,  the  church  will  receive  you 
with  transport  ;  angels  will  rejoice  at  your  repent- 
ance ;  the  compassionate  Jesus  will  bestow  upon 
you  a  "  peace  which  passeth  understanding,"  and 
will  at  last  bear  you  to  the  Jerusalem  on  high, 
where  all  tears  shall  be  wiped  from  your  eyes,  and 
an  everlasting  peace  dwell  in  your  soul.  There 
you  shall  forever  fix  your  grateful  view  upon  your 
Redeemer,  and  see  him  surrounded,  not  as  on 
Mount  Olivet,  by  a  company  of  weak  disciples,  but 
by  myriads  of  triumphant  saints,  with  whom  you 
shall  join,  while  they  swell  the  song  of  adoring 
praise,  and  cast  their  crowns  before  his  throne. 


SERMON  V. 

JESUS  LEAVING  PEACE  TO  HIS  DISCIPLES. 

John  xiv.  27. 

u  Peace  I  leave  rvith  you;  my  peace  I  give  unto  you  :  not 
as  the  world givethy  give  Junto  you.  Let  not  your  heart 
be  troubled,  neither  let  it  be  afraid." 

THERE  is  no  single  event  in  the  life  of 
our  compassionate  Redeemer,  which  is  not  calcu- 
lated to  interest  and  instruct  us.  Whether  we  view 
him  when  the  people  hailed  him  as  the  promised 
Messiah,  and  shouted  hosannas  to  the  son  of  Da- 
vid, or  when  they  covered  him  with  reproaches, 
and  pursued  him  with  curses  ;  whether  we  listen  to 
him  uttering  the  severest  denunciations  against  the 
proud  Pharisees,  or  giving  the  most  tender  assu- 
rances to  the  humble  and  broken  hearted ;  whether 
we  behold  him  mingling  with  the  rude  populace  of 
Judea,  that  he  might  reclaim  them,  or  retiring  to 
the  mount  that,  aloof  from  the  world,  he  might 
hold  sweet  converse  with  his  Father ;  whether  we 
contemplate  him  clothed  with  the  power  of  divinity 
and  commanding  ail  nature  at  his  pleasure,  or  in- 
vested with  our  purest  affections,  taking  little 
children  in  his   arms   and  blessing  them :    In  a 


SERMON  v.  er 

word,  at  whatever  part  of  his  conduct  we  look, 
we  behold  a  character  uniformly  bright  and 
glorious  ;  admirable  for  its  perfect  combination  of 
every  virtue,  attractive  for  its  overflowing  benigni- 
ty and  love. 

But  though  all  his  conduct  is  godlike,  never* 
theless  the  last  scenes  of  his  life  shine  with  pe- 
culiar splendour.  In  proportion  as  he  draws  nearer 
to  its  close,  his  charity  appears  to  burn  with  a  warm- 
er flame,  his  divinity  to  shed  forth  brighter  beams 
through  the  clouds  which  enshrouded  it.  This 
sun  of  righteousness,  now  that  it  is  about  to  set, 
emits  its  mildest  lustre,  and  collects,  thus  to  speak, 
all  its  fires.  The  chapter  whence  my  text  is  taken, 
and  those  immediately  succeeding  it,  confirm  this 
observation,  They  present  to  us  Jesus  surround- 
ed by  his  dear  disciples,  on  the  evening  before  his 
crucifixion.  He  is  not  ignorant  that  in  a  few  hours 
his  soul  will  experience  agonies  unutterable,  and 
the  ground  of  Gethsemane  be  smoking  with  the 
blood  gushing  from  his  tortured  frame.  He  looks 
at  his  disciples  professing  their  attachment  to  him 
and  foresees  that  before  they  sleep,  one  of  them 
will  betray  him ;  another  deny  him  with  execra- 
tions, and  all  of  them  timidly  abandon  him  to  sus- 
tain his  misery  alone.  He  fully  knows  that  he 
just  touches  that  period,  when  he  is  to  be  scourged, 
buffeted,  spit  upon ;  loaded  with  curses  ;  when  his 
body  suspended  between  heaven  and  earth  h  to  be 


82  SERMON  V. 

i 

racked  with  pain;  and  his  soul,  encircled  with  the 

flames  of  divine  justice,  to  be  made  a  sacrifice  for 
sin.  In  such  a  situation,  the  bare  idea  of  which 
makes  us  to  tremble,  what  is  his  deportment  ? 
Does  he  lament  his  sad  destiny,  and  make  loud 
protestations  of  his  innocence,  and  execrate  the 
authors  of  his  calamities  ?  Ah  no  !  with  a  mind 
serene  as  the  regions  of  heaven,  he  looks  on  these 
terrible  objects  ;  with  a  resolution  fixed  and  steady 
as  the  eternal  purposes  of  God,  he  advances  to  meet 
them.  But  though  thus  calm  and  intrepid  with  re- 
gard to  that  weight  of  woes  which  is  descending 
on  himself,  he  is  not  indifferent  to  the  miseries  of 
others.  His  sensibility  is  exquisitely  alive  to  the 
sufferings  of  his  disciples,  and  he  seizes  with  avidi- 
ty the  few  moments  of  liberty  which  remain  to 
him,  to  arm  them  against  the  sorrows  with  which 
they  will  have  to  contend.  He  institutes  a  simple 
ordinance  as  a  memorial  of  his  death,  and  a  pledge 
of  his  love  ;  he  commends  them  to  the  guidance 
and  protection  of  his  Father  ;  he  animates  them 
by  the  most  consolatory  promises  ;  he  sustains  them 
by  the  richest  benedictions,  and  takes  a  solemn 
farewell  of  them  in  the  words  of  the  text : — u  Peace 
I  leave  with  you,  my  peace  I  give  unto  you  ;  not  as 
the  world  giveth,  give  I  unto  you.  Let  not  your 
heart  be  troubled,  neither  let  it  be  afraid." 

These  words  may  be  paraphrased  in  the  follow- 
ing manner  :  "  I  am  now  about  to  be  taken  from  you-, 


SERMON  V.  83 

and  your  outward  situation  will  be  dreadful.  In- 
numerable calamities  will  assail  you.  Your  con- 
duct in  propagating  my  religion  will  be  esteemed 
impious  ;  you  will  be  exposed  to  the  bitterest  per- 
secutions; many  of  you  will  suffer  the  most  cruel 
deaths.  Yet  let  not  the  prospect  of  these  evils 
affright  you,  nor  induce  you  to  decline  from  my 
service.  To  support  you  under  them,  I  leave 
you  a  peace  and  quietness  of  mind  which  external 
troubles  cannot  disturb  ;  a  tranquillity  which  will 
repose  in  your  hearts,  and  be  insuperable  by  hu- 
man or  diabolical  malice.  This  I  call  peculiarly 
my  peace,  because  it  is  purchased  by  my  blood,  and 
applied  by  my  Spirit,  and  because  it  is  distinct  from 
and  superior  to  those  kinds  of  tranquillity  derived 
from  other  sources.  Your  countrymen,  whenever 
they  meet  or  part,  exclaim — Peace  be  unto  you  : 
With  them  this  salutation  is  frequently  an  unfclt 
ceremony  or  an  impotent  wish.  But  it  is  not  so 
with  myself ;  for  as  I  sincerely  desire  that  you  may 
enjoy  it,  so  I  will  be  careful  that  this  desire  be  ac- 
complished. "  Such  is  the  spirit  of  these  words  ; 
the  principal  truths  taught  in  them  will  be  perceived 
while  we  illustrate  these  two  ideas  : 

I.  Jesus  Christ  gives  peace  to  his  followers  : 

II.  He  gives  it  not  as  the  world  does. 

My  brethren,  I  do  not  ask  your  attention :  It 
is  surely  secured  by  such  interesting  words  ut- 
tered on  so  interesting  an  occasion :  but  I  ask,  I 


84  SERMON  V. 

beseech  thee,  merciful  Jesus,  to  afford  us  thine  aid, 
and  whilst  we  are  meditating  on  thy  precious  lega- 
cy, make  us  to  enjoy  it.  Shed  down  in  our  souls 
that  "  peace  which  passeth  understanding,"  that 
«o  our  cares  and  fears  may  expire  in  thy  bosom. 

I.  Jesus  Christ  gives  peace  to  his  followers  ;  or 
in  other  words,  he  has  opened  for  them  sources  of 
tranquillity  and  joy  amidst  all  the  calamities  and 
afflictions  of  life.  *'  Peace  I  leave  with  you — Let 
not  your  heart  be  troubled,  neither  let  it  be  afraid." 

This  will  be  established  if  we  can  prove  these 
two  points ; 

1.  He  ha?  given  us  the  most  adequate  supports 
tinder  all  the  woes  to  which  we  are  exposed ;  and 

2.  He  has  bestowed  on  us  positive  grounds  of 
tranquillity.  That  is  to  say,  with  the  one  hand  he 
gives  us  an  antidote  against  every  sorrow,  and  with 
the  other  reaches  forth  to  us  the  richest  benedicr 
tions. 

1.  Look  at  your  life  and  heart,  and  you  will  find 
two  great  enemies  of  peace  and  tranquillity ;  sins 
and  afflictions  ;  and  in  vain  will  the  heart  sigh  for 
rest,  till  in  some  mode  the  sting  of  sin  is  taken 
away  and  the  bitterness  of  affliction  removed. 
These  effects,  these  desirable  effects,  are  produced 
by  the  Redeemer,  and  by  him  alone. 


SERMON  V.  85 

While  the  conscience  is  burdened  by  the  guilt  of 
sin,  and  the  mind  harrassed  by  the  apprehension  of 
that  punishment  to  which  it  exposes  us,  we  in  vain 
hope  for  peace — "  The  dreadful  anger  of  God  will 
crush  me  if  I  die  in  my  present  situation,  and  I 
may  die  every  moment,"  is  a  thought  that  will  dash 
every  festivity  and  embitter  every  enjoyment. 
Other  miseries  are  trifling  in  comparison  with  this 
sense  of  guilt.  In  the  sorrows  which  proceed 
from  the  unkindness  and  injustice  of  the  world, 
we  may  retire  within  our  own  breasts,  and  enjoy 
that  pure  and  unalloyed  satisfaction  which  results 
from  conscious  rectitude :  but  here  the  executioner 
is  within  us,  and  it  is  only  by  fleeing  from  ourselves 
that  we  can  be  calm.  In  most  of  our  other  sor- 
rows we  see  opposed  to  us,  men,  weak  like  our- 
selves, whom  we  may  overcome,  and  who  at  most 
"  can  only  kill  the  body,  and  after  that,  have  no- 
thing else  that  they  can  do  :" — but  here  it  is  the 
mighty  God  who  appears  as  our  foe  ;  the  God  "  who 
can  cast  both  body  and  soul  into  vhell,"  and  make 
us  feel  in  every  atom  of  which  we  are  composed, 
torments  which  shall  never  end.  No,  no !  there 
is  no  other  grief  that  can  be  compared  with  the  an- 
guish of  the  soul,  that  is  enlightened  to  behold  the 
spotless  purity  and  inflexible  justice  of  God,  and 
the  depth  of  the  abyss  dug  by  its  own  crimes  and 
iniquities.  The  tears  that  are  wrung  from  us  by 
outward  afflictions  are  extacy,  compared  to  these 
quakings  of  the  heart  that  ha3  a  true  sense  of  its 


86  SERMON  V. 

guilt.  It  is  absurd  then  to  talk  of  peace,  until  in 
some  manner  the  anguish  arising  from  this  source 
be  removed.  It  is  in  vain  to  expect  tranquillity, 
till  the  mind  find  something  to  interpose  between 
its  sins  and  the  avenging  justice  of  a  holy  God. 
Without  this,  you  may  be  stupid  and  senseless,  but 
vou  cannot  have  a  reasonable  serenity.  Without 
this,  you  may  have  an  air  of  festivity  and  joy  ;  but 
this  festivity  and  joy  will  be  often  interrupted  by 
the  thoughts  of  judgment  and  eternity.  "  Even  in 
laughter  your  heart  will  be  sorrowful,  and  the  end 
of  your  mirth  will  be  heaviness."  (Prov.  xiv.   13.) 

Where  then  shall  we  seek  for  relief  to  these  tor- 
ments which  arise  from  a  sense  of  guilt  ?  Where 
shall  the  mind,  terrified  by  the  splendours  of  divine 
justice  and  the  flashes  from  the  infernal  pit,  find  re- 
pose and  rest  ?  In  vain  will  your  thoughts  range 
through  heaven  or  earth  for  any  thing  which  will  af- 
ford you  solid  consolation,  except  the  mediation  of 
Jesus,  the  mighty  peace-maker.  "  There  only  can 
the  wearied  dove  find  the  olive  of  peace."  Every 
other  resort  leaves  it  full  of  gloomy  doubts  and 
fearful  forebodings.  But  in  the  sacrifice  of  Im- 
manuel,  we  behold  all  cause  of  terrc  removed, 
and  the  most  satisfying  joys  presented  to  our  hopes 
and  expectations.  Embracing  the  merits  of  the 
Redeemer  by  a  lively  faith,  the  christian  no  longer 
feels  the  stings  of  conscience  ;  no  longer  trembles 
to  look  through  and  beyond  the  grave,  but  calmly 


SERMON  V.  87 

and  cheerfully  waits  for  that  period,  when  he  shall 
be  borne  into  the  immediate  presence  and  enjoy- 
ment of  his  God.  "It  is  true,"  he  exclaims,  trium- 
phing; in  the  security  of  the  divine  promises  ;  "  it  is 
true,  I  am  covered  with  sins  and  deserving  of  per- 
dition ;  but  behold  my  acquittal  sealed  to  me 
from  heaven  by  the  blood  of  the  cross :  '  There 
is  no  condemnation  to  them  that  are  in  Christ 
Jesus  :  It  is  God  that  justifieth,  and  who  shall  con- 
demn V  I  see  the  guilt  and  baseness  of  my  trans- 
gressions ;  I  know  how  terrible  is  that  tribunal  at 
which  I  must  appear ;  how  strict  is  that  judg- 
ment which  I  must  undergo  ;  but  Christ  has  died  ; 
he  has  already  washed  my  soul  in  his  blood,  and  he 
will  in  that  eventful  day  appear  as  my  advocate 
and  deliverer.  The  prospect  of  my  sins  fills  me 
with  adoring  thoughts  of  that  grace  which  has 
justified  me,  and  with  deep  humility  before 
my  God:  but  it  can  never  fill  me  with  a  slav- 
ish terror,  nor  make  me  despair  of  the  mercy  of 
my  Father."  Speak  for  me,  believers,  and  testi- 
fy that  these  representations  are  not  exaggerated  ; 
tell  where  you  found  support  when  your  awaken- 
ed conscience  shewed  you  the  number  and  enormi- 
ty of  your  sins,  and  pointed  to  the  avenging  arm 
of  the  holy  God,  ready  to  crush  you  :  speak,  where 
did  you  then  find  peace  and  tranquillity  ?  Could 
you  find  it  in  the  amusements  and  sraieties  of  the 
world  ?  Alas  !  in  the  midst  of  jocoseness  and 
pleasantry  your  heart  was  bleeding.     Could  you 


88  SERMON  V. 

find  it  in  the  precepts  of  human  philosophy  ;  in  the 
lessons  of  worldly  wisdom  ?  Human  philosophy, 
worldly  wisdom  !  alas  !  can  these  wash  out  the  stain 
of  the  smallest  sin  from  the  conscience  ;  Can 
these  retain  the  arm  of  an  incensed  divinity  when 
raised  to  smite  you  ?  Could  you  find  it  in  the  en- 
dearments of  friendship  and  affection  ?  Ah  !  pow- 
erful as  is  the  voice  of  friendship  in  dispelling 
other  griefs  ;  precious  as  are  the  accents  of  affection 
to  the  soul  agitated  by  other  disquietudes,  yet  they 
both  are  powerless,  inefficacious,  in  restoring  peace 
to  the  conscience,  oppressed  by  the  weight  of  its 
sins,  and  shuddering  with  apprehensions  of  eternal 
misery.  Yes,  believers,  you  can  attest  that  in 
such  circumstances  we  in  vain  search  creation 
round  for  tranquillity ;  you  can  attest  that  you 
could  find  it  no  where,  till  approaching  the  only 
propitiation,  and  pressing  to  your  souls  the  cross 
red  with  his  blood,  you  heard  him  whisper  to 
your  hearts  in  accents  soothing  yet  authorita- 
tive :  "  Be  of  good  cheer,  your  sins  be  forgiven 
you."  Tell,  for  you  have  felt  it,  what  joy,  what 
peace,  what  tranquillity,  succeeded  to  this  cheer- 
ing assurance  of  our  gracious  Immanuel  ;  tell 
how  it  changed  the  voice  of  sorrow  into  accents 
of  praise,  and  enabled  you  to  "go  on  your  way  re- 
joicing ;"  tell  with  an  holy  triumph,  that  Jesus 
has  given  you  peace  with  your  conscience,  and 
blotted  out  all  your  iniquities,  when  the  whole 
world  was   unable   to     afford    you   relief.     And 


SERMON  ^ £5\V  '        $9 
••  •  *  • .  * 

are  }tou  the  only  persons  who  t:an  witness  to  this 

truth  ?   No — speak,  for  me,  ye  glorified  immortals  ; 

ye  redeemed  of  every  tribe  and  nation,  who  dwell 

in  the  regions  of  blessedness  :  speak  and  declare  to 

the  inhabitants  of  earth,   that  none  but  that  Jesus 

on  whom  you  gaze  with  ever  new  delight,  can  give 

comfort  to  the  troubled  conscience  ;  that   nothing 

but  the  streams  which  flowed  from  those  precious 

wounds,  which  you  behold  shining  with  glory,  can 

efface  the  stain  pf  guilt  and  obliterate  every  vestige 

of  pollution.     Speak,  ye  that  are  washed  in   the 

blood  of  the  Lamb,  and  declare  from  your  own 

experience  that  this  blood  can  make  the  soul  that 

was  "  red  like  crimson,  become  white  as  snow."  . 

Thus  then  Jesus  has  provided  for  his  followers 
effectual  remedies  against  the  griefs  arising  from 
our  sins,  the  first  and  greatest  enemy  to  our  peace  : 
he  has  been  no  less  careful  in  affording  to  them 
proper  supports  under  those  trials,  those  crosses, 
and  afflictions,  of  which  human  life  is  full,  and 
which  we  mentioned  as  the  second  great  enemy  to 
peace. 

To  comfort  mankind  under  these  crosses  and 
trials  was  one  of  the  principal  aims  of  the  philoso- 
phers of  antiquity.  Long  before  this  "  teacher  sent 
from  God"  appeared  in  Judea,  the  most  vigorous 
powers  of  mind  and  the  most  incessant  application, 
had  been  employed  in  prescribing  means  to  attain 

M 


90         '  ,*-;??.f&RMON  V. 
•  •• 

* 

an  undisturbed  tranquillity  of  soul.     But  all  these 
endeavours  were  fruitless,  for  grace  and  not  nature, 
Jerusalem  and  not  Athens,  were  appointed  to  teach 
us  this  heavenly  art.     The  tear  would  still  flow,  and 
the  heart  be  still  wrung  with  anguish,  whether  we 
listened  to  the  haughty  stoic  who,   contradicting 
fact  and  the  feelings  of  nature,  asserted  that  there 
were  no  evils  except  in  imagination,  and  that  pain 
existed  only  in  fancy ;  or  to  the  epicurean  who  tore 
away  every  prop  to  the  frailty  of  our  nature,  when 
he  attributed  every  calamity  to  a  senseless  chance. 
All  the  schools  of  antiquity,  discordant  and  clash, 
ing  in  every  thing  else,  were  united  only  in  pre- 
senting unsubstantial   comforts,   which    were  too 
airy  to  support  those  under  the  pressure  of  real 
grief,   or  else  in  irritating  instead   of  healing  the 
wounds  of  the  soul.     But  when  we  turn  from  these 
ineffectual  consolations  of  the  brightest  ornaments 
of  Greece  and  Rome,  to  the  divine  instructor  who 
"  spake  as  never  man  spake,"  what  different  senti- 
ments are  excited  !     He  proposes  such  grounds  of 
peace  and  tranquillity,  as  will  hush  every  painful 
passion,     will    compose    every  rising  grief,    will 
drive  back  every  starting  tear,   or  convert  it  into  a 
tear  of  joy,  and  render  us  not  patient  merely,  but 
triumphant  in  affliction.     He  gives  us  such  instruc- 
tions  concerning  the   author,   the  intent,  and  the 
issue  of  afflictions,  as,  if  they  be  properly  realized, 
will  cause  the  sorrows  of  life  to  vanish  "  like  the 


SERMON  V.  01 

morning  cloud,"  and  the  pains  of  mortality  to  dis- 
solve "  like  the  early  dew." 

Come,  children  of  affliction,  let  us  open  his  holy 
volume,  let  us  attend  to  his  sublime  instructions, 
to  his  tender  consolations ;  and  then  afflictions 
will  lose  their  bitterness,  and  those  crosses  of 
whose  weight  we  now  complain,  will  be  borne 
without  a  struggle  or  a  sigh.  Listen,  whilst  to 
console  us  he  points  to  the  author  of  these  afflic- 
tions, and  teaches  us  that  they  "spring  not  from 
the  dust,"  but  ar«  caused  by  the  will  of  God ;  by 
the  will  of  our  creator  who  called  us  into  being ;  of 
our  preserver,  whose  power  constantly  exercised 
prevent  us  from  shrinking  back  into  unconscious 
non-existence  ;  of  our  Redeemer,  who  poured  out 
his  blood  to  rescue  us  from  perdition  :  by  the  will 
of  that  God,  who  is  immaculately  holy  in  all  his 
conduct,  infinitely  wise  in  adapting  our  circum- 
stances to  our  situation,  unspeakably  merciful  in 
all  his  dispensations  towards  us,  and  irresistibly 
powerful  in  the  execution  of  his  designs.  When 
Jesus  thus  instructs  us,  ought  not  every  murmur 
to  be  silenced  ?  Ought  we  not  to  cry  out  from  the 
bottom  of  our  souls,  "  Since  my  afflictions  come 
from  God,  from  my  God,  whose  infinite  power  is 
directed  by  fatherly  compassion,  I  will  not  repine. 
Since  he  wounds  me  that  made  me,  that  governs, 
and  that  deserves  to  govern  the  world,  I  will  not  be 


S2  SERMON  V. 

a  rebel  and  revolt  against  his  dispensations.     Fath- 
er, thy  will  be  done." 

The  divine  teacher  having  thus  pointed  us  to  the 
author,  instructs  us  also  in  the  intent  and  design  of 
afflictions,  that  he  may  thus  afford  us  a  new  shield 
against  the  assaults  of  grief.  He  cries  to  us — These 
your  trials  are  indeed  painful  to  nature,  but  they  are 
salutary  for  your  souls.  As  they  proceed  from 
him  who  is  love,  so  they  are  sent  in  love.  This 
loss,  this  bereavement,  this  disease,  is  ordered  by 
the  same  heart,  and  springs  from  the  same  rich 
fountain  of  mercy,  which  gave  the  Redeemer  to 
expire  on  Golgotha.  And  shall  any  affliction  then 
unduly  depress  us  ?  We  who  for  the  health  of  our 
bodies  take  those  medicines,  which  though  unpal- 
atable, are  salutary,  shall  we  not  unless  we  esteem 
our  souls  of  less  value  than  our  bodies,  cheerfully 
receive  those  afflictions  which  God  in  infinite  mercy 
appoints  as  medicines  to  the  soul,  as  admirable 
means  to  strengthen  our  grace  and  exercise  our 
virtues,  to  make  us  quit  our  eager  grasp  of  the 
world,  and  cause  us  to  fix  our  affections  on  him 
who  alone  can  satisfy  the  capacities  of  our  soul  ? 

And  finally,  to  give  us  still  more  effectual  reme- 
dies against  the  sorrows  of  life,  Jesus  draws  aside 
the  curtain  which  covers  the  eternal  world,  and 
points  to  that  immortal  blessedness  in  which  these 
trials  terminate ;  he  tells  us  that  all  our  sorrows 


SERMON  V,  93 

have  a  certain,  though  it  may  be  to  us  a  secret  con- 
nection with  our  eternal  happiness ;  that  they  are 
such  necessary  links  in  that  chain  conducting  from 
earth  to  heaven,  that  if  they  were  wanting,  we 
should  either  not  arrive  at  those  regions  of  joy,  or 
at  least  not  occupy  so  high  a  station  there  ;  that 
these  storms  of  adversity,  rude,  boisterous,  as  they 
are,  shall  only  bear  us  sooner  to  the  haven  of  peace, 
and  make  us  enjoy  with  greater  delight  the  unclou- 
ded and  undisturbed  serenity  of  heaven.  Ah  ! 
christian,  ought  we,  dare  we,  when  encouraged 
by  such  hopes,  when  animated  by  such  prospects, 
repine  at  the  afflictions  of  life.  Ought  we  not  in 
the  exulting  tone  of  the  apostle,  to  exclaim,  "  We 
glory  in  tribulation  ;  for  our  light  affliction  which 
is  but  for  a  moment,  worketh  for  us  a  far  more  ex- 
ceeding and  eternal  weight  of  glory." 

I  appeal  then  to  yourselves  :  has  not  Jesus  given 
to  his  followers  effectual  grounds  of  security  and 
peace  amidst  all  the  afflictions  of  life  ?  With  con- 
fidence, with  triumph,  we  pronounce  that  he  has. 
The  power  of  these  supports  has  been  attested  in 
every  period  of  the  church.  Paul  could  truly  say 
of  himself  and  his  fellow  disciples  who  were  up- 
held by  them,  w  We  are  troubled  on  every  side, 
yet  not  distressed  ;  we  are  perplexed,  but  not  in 
despair ;  persecuted  but  not  forsaken  ;  cast  down, 
but  not  destroyed ;  for  we  know  that  if  the  earthly 
house  of  this  tabernacle  were  dissolved,  we  have 


94.  SERMON  V. 

a  building  of  God,  a  house  not  made  with  hands, 
eternal  in  the  heavens."  And  if  we  descend  from 
the  apostolic  age  to  those  which  immediately  sue. 
ceeded,  we  see  these  supports  which  the  Saviour 
affords,  upholding  innumerable  persons  of  every 
age,  sex,  and  condition,  enabling  them  to  sing  in 
the  midst  of  the  flames,  to  smile  upon  racks,  to 
triumph  upon  the  cruel  wheel.  And  even  now 
when  we  have  so  degenerated  from  the  spirit  of 
primitive  times,  how  many  instances  could  we  pro- 
duce  of  the  efficacy  of  these  consolations.  Ah !  how 
often  in  visiting  the  mansions  of  poverty,  of  sick- 
ness, of  distress,  have  I  beheld  the  christian  com- 
posed, submissive,  even  joyous,  under  those  same 
visitations  which  filled  the  impious  with  the  deepest 
gloom,  with  unmingled  sorrow.  How  often  have 
I  seen  the  believer  in  the  midst  of  those  woes  most 
oppressive  to  nature,  lifting  up  to  heaven,  eyes  in 
which  meekness,  trust,  affection  were  expressed, 
and  saying  with  a  holy  composure,  "  The  cup  which 
my  father,  my  affectionate  father  has  given  me,  shall 
I  not  drink  it  ?" 

Yes,  we  repeat  the  observation,  and  we  repeat  it 
with  exultation,  Jesus  has  given  to  his  followers 
effectual  grounds  of  security  and  peace,  amidst  all 
the  afflictions  of  life. 

Having  thus  established  our  first  position,  and 
evinced  that  the  Saviour  has  provided  for  his  fol- 


SERMON  V.  95 

lowers  the  most  powerful  antidotes  against  those 
sorrows  to  which  we  are  exposed  on  earth  ;  it  is  no 
less  easy  to  shew 

2.  That  he  has  conferred  on  them  positive  grounds 
of  tranquillity  so  powerful,  so  cheering,  as  to  be 
sufficient  to  keep  their  souls  in  sacred  peace  amidst 
all  the  storms  of  sorrow,  with  which  they  may  be 
assailed.  He  was  authorized  to  say  to  his  weep- 
ing disciples,  affrighted  at  the  prospect  of  the  woes 
rushing  upon  them  ;  he  is  authorised  to  say  to  all 
those  of  us  who  are  his  real  friends,  Peace  I  leave 
•with  you,  because  he  proffers  to  us  an  intimate 
communion  with  God,  the  influences  of  his  Holy 
Spirit,  and  the  earnests  of  approaching  glory  : 
three  benedictions  worthy  of  a  God ;  three  bene- 
dictions sufficient  to  give  a  heavenly  joy  to  the 
soul  in  the  most  unprosperous  circumstances  that 
can  be  conceived. 

Jesus  Christ  secures  peace  and  tranquillity  for 
his  followers,  by  giving  them  an  intimate  commu- 
nion -with  God.  Yes,  this  glorious  God  whose  splen- 
dours dazzle  the  eagle-eyed  seraphim,  this  holy 
God  who  cannot  view  sin  without  abhorrence,  con- 
descends, through  the  atonement  and  intercession 
of  Christ,  to  form  the  most  strict  and  tender  ties 
with  us  little  mortals,  with  us  sinful  creatures  ;  and 
to  admit  us  to  the  most  intimate  and  delicious  in- 
tercourse with  him,    He  invites  us  to  the  most  un- 


96  SERMON  V. 

reserved  confidence  in  him,  to  the  most  wonder- 
ful familiarity  with  him  ;  he  bids  us  pour  out  all 
our  disquietudes  into  his  bosom,  assured  of  find- 
ing pity  and  assistance  ;  he  tells  us  in  all  our  fears 
and  dangers,  to  flee  to  him  for  succour,  and  rely  on 
him  for  security  :  and  when  we  obey  these  calls, 
when  by  often  betaking  ourselves  to  God  we  be- 
come acquainted  with  him  ;  when  by  frequent 
prayer,  meditation,  and  other  practices  of  devotion, 
we  "  follow  hard  after  him"  and  attend  close  upon 
him,  he  is  accustomed  to  break  in  upon  the  soul 
with  flashes  of  joy,  to  warm  it  with  beams  of  com- 
fort, to  breathe  into  it  the  inspirations  of  heaven, 
to  speak  peace  to  the  heart  and  shed  through  it  a 
thousand  consolations :  when  on  our  knees  before 
him,  we  feel  our  hearts  dissolving  with  love  and 
flowing  out  to  his  bosom,  we  find  the  rich  tide  of 
affection  soon  rolling  back  from  God  to  our  souls, 
and  bringing  with  it  pleasures  which  are  unutter- 
able. O  precious  hours  of  communion  with  my 
Maker  !  O  inestimable  privilege  of  fellowship 
with  my  God  !  blest  with  thee,  what  more  can  I 
desire  ;  enjoying  thee,  what  can  I  fear  !  Say  my 
brethren,  say,  can  a  man  who  has  these  enjoyments 
be  deprived  of  peace  ?  Can  the  tempests  of  earth 
agitate  that  steady  soul  which  has  an  anchor  thus 
fixed  in  the  heaven  of  heavens,  and  fastened  to  the 
very  throne  of  God  ?  What  care,  what  fear, 
what  inquietude  can  intrude  within  that  breast 
which  enjoys  this  delicious  intercourse  with  the 


SERMON  V.  97 

Lord  ?  Look  over  the  whole  circle  of  human 
miseries,  and  see  if  there  be  one  which  will  not  con- 
tract itself  and  shrink  into  nothing,  when  we  enjoy 
these  ravishing  consolations.  Is  the  christian  be- 
reft of  his  wealth,  and  left  a  prey  to  poverty  ?  Can 
this  inordinately  afflict  him  when  he  can  look  up  to 
heaven  and  say — My  eternal  inheritance  is  yet  un- 
impaired ;  my  possessions  beyond  the  skies  are  yet 
secure  ;  I  am  yet  rich  for  I  have  still  my  God  left 
me,  the  maker,  the  owner,  the  distributer  of  all 
things.  Is  the  christian  scorned,  slandered,  con- 
temned by  the  world  ?  What  then,  provided  he 
has  "  that  honour  which  cometh  from  God  only." 
Esteeming  the  favour  of  God,  happiness  enough 
without  the  applauses  of  mortals,  he  can  look  at 
the  world,  and  smile  and  pity  it.  Is  the  christian 
left  destitute  of  friends,  bereaved  of  relatives,  in 
solitude  and  dereliction  ?  Ah  !  "  that  man  never 
knew  what  it  is  to  be  familiar  with  God,  that 
complains  of  the  want  of  friends  while  God  is 
with  him:  He  alone  is  a  thousand  companions; 
he  alone  is  a  world  of  friends."  Resting  our 
weary  head  on  his  faithful  bosom,  having  him 
and  his  glorious  angels  with  us,  and  permitted 
familiarly  to  converse  with  him,  what  more  do  we 
need  ?  Review  in  like  manner  those  other  internal 
afflictions  or  outward  woes,  which  assail  the  chil- 
dren of  men — and  see  if  you  can  select  a  sin- 
gle one  which  the  habitual  exercise  of  commun- 
ion with  God,  will  not  enable  the  believer  to  en* 

N 


98  SERMON  V, 

dure  with   patience,   and  perfect  acquiescence  of 
soul.     Was  not  then  the  Saviour  warranted  to  say 
to  his  disciples,  to  those  same  disciples  who  were 
just  entering  upon  a  scene  of  Woes,  persecutions, 
and  indignities  from  which  nature  recoiled,  and  who 
most  of  them  were  to  seal  their  ministry  with  their 
blood ;  was  he  not  warranted  to  say  to  them,  "  Peace 
Heave  to  you — Let  not  your  heart  be  troubled  neither 
let  it  be  afraid"   since  he  had  secured  for  them 
that  communion  with  God  which  could  uphold  them 
under  every  calamity.     I  say,  he  had  secured  it ; 
for  remember,  my  brethren,  that  it  is  only  through 
the  atonement  of  Christ  that  this  privilege  was  ob- 
tained for  us.    Without  this  atonement,  the  holiness 
and  justice  of  God  would  have  planted  round  the 
eternal  throne,  a  barrier  more  insuperable  than  the 
cherubim  and  fiery  flaming  sword  which  guarded  the 
access  to  the  tree  of  life. 

Do  any  of  you,  my  brethren,  regard  these  repre- 
sentations as  visions  of  fancy,  having  no  existence 
in  real  life,  or  as  flights  of  enthusiasm  ?  Believe 
me,  you  deceive  your  own  souls — believe  me, 
many  thousand  followers  of  the  Lamb,  have 
found  in  this  intercourse  with  their  God,  pleasures 
incomparably  greater  than  those  I  have  described. 
I  appeal  to  experience  for  a  confirmation  of  their 
reality.  Not  to  the  experience  of  those  cold,  for- 
mal professors  who  abound  in  our  churches,  who 
whilst  they  attend  to  the  exteriors  of  religion,  neg- 


SERMON  V.  99 

lect  to  cultivate  its  inward  power ;  who  arc  desirous 
of  appearing  holy,  and  careless  of  being  so ;  who 
perform  with  assiduity',  those  duties,   in  the  dis- 
charge of  which  the  eyes  of  men  are  fixed  upon 
them,  but  who  neglect  those  exercises  which  ex- 
clude all  other  witnesses,  than  God  and  their  own 
consciences.     To  the  experience  of  these  men  we 
do  not  appeal ;  for.  they  are  strangers  to  commu- 
nion with  God  ;   alas !  they  are  strangers  to  vital 
religion.      But  we  appeal  to  those  warm-hearted 
believers,  who  daily  are  cementing  this  heavenly 
familiarity,  by  renewing  their  intercourse  with  God, 
who  often  talk  with  him  in  the  secret  of  their  closet, 
and  hourly  direct  their  thoughts   to  their  Father 
and  their  Friend.  Speak,  and  declare  that  God  deals 
familiarly  with  men  ;  draw  for  a  moment  that  veil 
with  which  your  modesty  has  covered  the  interior 
of  your  soul,  and  shew  us  that  your  hearts  have 
been   inundated  with  pleasures  which  the  world 
can  never  bestow,  which  the  men  of  the  world  can 
never  conceive.     We  appeal  to  the  noble  army  of 
confessors  and  martyrs,    who  through  communion 
with  God,   rose   superior  to  all  the  fury   of  men. 
We  appeal  to  the  saints  of  the  old  testament  and 
the  new,  who  in  an  intercourse  with   God,  had 
heaven  let  down  into  their  souls,  and  almost  emu- 
lated the  joys  of  angels. 

Jesus  Christthen  gives  peace  to  his  followers,  since 
he  has  secured  for  them  communion  with  God. 


100  SERMON  V. 

But  this  is  only  the  first  of  his  benedictions.  He 
confers  also  the  Holy  Spirit,  that  bond  and  liga- 
ment connecting  God  and  the  soul  of  the  believer. 
This  Spirit  purchased  by  the  Saviour  upon  the 
cross,  and  conferred  through  his  intercession,  by 
his  enlightening,  his  renewing,  his  comforting  influ- 
ences, sheds  through  the  soul  of  the  believer  a  sta- 
ble and  solid  peace. 

As  the  enlightening  Spirit,  he  presents  to  our 
minds  those  great  truths  of  religion  which  affect, 
which  interest,  and  delight  us.  He  removes  the 
veil  which  conceals  futurity,  and  directs  our  at- 
tention to  the  eternity  of  happiness,  the  perfec- 
tion of  holiness,  the  consummation  of  joy  which 
God  reserves  for  his  children.  He  exhibits  in  a 
clear  and  attractive  light,  the  excellencies  of  God, 
the  perfections  of  Immanuel.  These  and  the  oth- 
er important  truths  of  religion,  he  impresses  on  the 
believer,  not  in  a  cold  speculative  manner,  but  so 
as  to  excite  the  highest  delight.  Tell,  christians, 
how  at  some  favoured  moments  your  souls,  under 
his  instruction,  have,  as  it  were,  leaped  beyond  the 
confines  of  this  dark  prison  of  earth,  and  all-sur- 
rounded by  light,  placed  themselves  before  the 
throne  of  the  Eternal.  You  have  then  fixed  a 
steady  eye  upon  the  glory  which  he  unveiled,  and 
rilled  with  admiration  and  love,  have  shouted — This 
glory  is  mine,  given  me  by  the  Father,  purchased 
by  the  Son,  applied  by  the  Spirit  ;  and  the  current 


SERMON  V.  iOl 

of  time  as  it  rolls  along,  is  rapidly  bearing  me  to  the 
full  participation  of  it.  Tell  with  what  extacy  you 
contemplated  the  attributes  of  Deity,  the  graces  of 
the  Saviour,  when  this  "  Spirit  of  wisdom  and  reve- 
lation took  of  the  things  of  God,  and  shewed  them 
unto  you"  with  an  evidence  and  sweetness,  which 
philosophy  could  never  attain.  Tell  how  at  such 
times,  these  enchanting  glimpses  darkened  the  lus- 
tre of  earthly  joy,  made  the  severest  afflictions  of 
mortality  vanish  from  observation,  and  filled  your 
hearts  with  that  peace  which  the  Saviour  here 
promises  to  you. 

But  this  Spirit  which  enlightens,  is  also  the  r<?- 
neiuing  Spirit ;  and  how  much  tranquillity  and  sat- 
isfaction does  the  exercise  of  this  part  of  his  office 
give  to  the  soul.  To  find  harmony  restored  to 
our  irregular  affections,  to  see  the  passions  former- 
ly untamed  submitting  to  the  yoke  of  religion,  to 
behold  our  native  depravity  losing  its  reigning 
power,  and  the  image  of  God  re-impressed  upon 
us  ;  is  not  this  a  desirable,  a  delightful  contempla- 
tion ?  To  have  a  heavenly  temper  implanted 
within  us,  the  seeds  of  glory  sown  in  our  breasts, 
a  burning  love  to  the  Being  of  beings,  and  a  tender 
affection  for  mankind  glowing  in  our  hearts  ;  is  not 
this  a  state  calculated  to  afford  us  peace  ?  But 
these  effects  are  produced  in  a  greater  or  less  degree 
on  every  believer,  when  renewed  by  the  Holy  Ghost, 
he  has  "  Christ  formed  in  him  the  hope  of  glory." 


102  SERMON  V. 

And  finally,  it  is  part  of  the  office  of  this  same 
Spirit,  by  his  consoling  influences,  to  dissipate  the 
cloud  of  sorrow,  and  cause  the  sunshine  of  heaven 
to  break  in  upon  the  soul.  Oh  !  how  often,  chris- 
tians, has  he  given  you  "  the  oil  of  joy  for  mourn- 
ing, and  the  garment  of  praise  for  the  spirit  of 
heaviness."  Honv  often  in  times  of  darkness,  of 
perplexity,  of  gloom,  has  he  spoken  to  your  heart 
and  said,  "  Be  of  good  cheer ;"  how  often  in  sea- 
sons of  woe  and  affliction,  has  he  given  you  a  warm 
feeling  of  the  love  of  God,  a  calm  hope  of  your 
adoption,  which  banished  your  sorrow,  and  made  your 
heart  swell  with  delight.  How  often  when  filled 
with  gloomy  fears  and  forebodings,  has  he  by  the 
application  of  some  sweet  promise,  by  recalling 
some  consolatory  truth,  enabled  you  to  "  stay  your- 
selves on  the  Lord,  to  rejoice  in  the  God  of  your 
salvation."  Though  he  dispenses  these  consola- 
tions in  various  degrees  to  different  persons,  yet 
there  are  no  christians  who  do  not  enjoy  them  in 
some  degree  ;  and  sure  I  am  that  no  christian 
would  exchange  the  smallest  ray  of  this  divine  con- 
solation, for  all  the  combined  happiness  that  has  re- 
sulted from  earthly  sources,  from  the  creation  of  the 
world  to  this  very  hour.  Must  not  then  the  chris- 
tian enjoy  peace  and  tranquillity  ? 

Finally,  Jesus  is  ready  to  confer  on  believers,  and 
will  confer  on  them,  if  they  be  not  wanting  to  them- 
selves, the  earnests  of  future  glory,  the  pledges  of 


SERMON  V.  103 

eternal  felicity.  The  Saviour  offers  these  to  all,  and 
commands  us  to  obtain  them  ;  and  it  is  not  owing  to 
want  of  power  or  defect  of  will  in  him,  but  to  our 
own  lukewarmness,  if  we  do  not  obtain  them.  Judge 
now  for  yourselves,  whether  he  who  has  complied 
with  this  duty  and  has  hopes  full  of  immortality,  has 
not  a  peace  so  excellent  as  to  be  worthy  to  be  the 
last  bequest  of  the  dying  Saviour.  He  knows  that 
every  moment  bears  him  nearer  to  his  Father  and 
his  Redeemer ;  that  every  pain  and  sorrow  that  be- 
fals  him,  is  intended  and  calculated  to  loosen  the 
bonds  which  connect  him  to  earth,  and  prepare  his 
soul  to  take  its  flight  to  the  regions  of  blessedness. 
And  can  the  sorrows  of  life  be  weighty  to  him  who 
knows  that  they  will  so  speedily  and  so  gloriously 
terminate  ?  When  his  affections  and  desires  form  for 
him  a  Pisgah,  elevated  upon  which  he  contemplates 
the  beauties  of  the  promised  land,  must  not  all  the 
sorrows  of  life  cease  to  disquiet  him ;  and  can  any 
regret  remain  to  him,  except  that  he  cannot  at  one 
leap  pass  over  his  threescore  years  and  ten,  and  enter 
upon  his  heavenly  inheritance  ? 

Thus  we  have  established  our  first  position,  that 
Jesus  gives  peace  to  his  followers :  Renew  your  at- 
tention while  we  shew 

II.   That  he  gives  it  not  as  the  world  does. 

We  have  already  remarked  to  you  that  amongst 


104.  SERMON  V. 

the  Jews  the  customary  form  both  of  saluting  a  per- 
son  and  bidding  him  farewell,  was  by  using  the 
words,  Peace  be  unto  you.  The  Saviour  alludes  to 
this  custom  when  he  says,  Peace  I  leave  with  you  -r 
but  to  shew  that  he  does  not  merely  use  a  common 
form  in  a  common  manner,  he  adds  the  remark  so 
worthy  of  our  attention,  u  Not  as  the  world  giveth, 
give  I  unto  you."  As  though  he  had  said,  "  The 
men  of  the  world  frequently  give  the  salutation  of 
peace  to  each  other  without  sincerely  wishing  that 
it  may  be  conferred — I  heartily  desire  that  you  may 
enjoy  it.  The  men  of  the  world  are  unable  to  con- 
fer the  peace  which  in  their  salutations  they  desire 
fortheir  brethren — my  wishes  are  not  thus  impotent ; 
I  am  abundantly  able  to  accomplish  them  :  The 
peace  of  the  world  is  transitory  and  endures  but  for 
a  moment — the  peace  which  I  give  will  continue  for 
ever."  The  insincerity,  the  impotence,  the  transi. 
toriness  of  the  peace  of  the  world,  contrasted  with 
the  sincerity,  the  power,  the  duration  of  the  peace  of 
Jesus  :  these  will  claim  your  attention  in  this  part  of 
the  discourse. 

1.  When  the  world  exclaims  to  us,  Peace  be  unto 
you,  this  exclamation  is  often  void  of  sincerity.  A 
person  need  only  cast  a  rapid  glance  over  the  world, 
to  find  numbers,  whose  words,  instead  of  being  the 
unequivocal  interpreters  of  their  sentiments,  are  in 
direct  opposition  to  them  ;  numbers,  who  cultivate 
with  assiduity  the  execrable  art  of  concealing  the 


SERMON  V.  10S 

most  unworthy  designs,  by  an  imposing  and  affec- 
tionate exterior ;  numbers,  who  with  a  cruel  dexteri- 
ty dissemble  the  emotions  of  their  soul  that  they  may- 
abuse  the  unsuspecting  sincerity  of  those  with  whom 
they  converse  ;  numbers,  who  embrace  with  seem- 
ing cordiality  him  whose  ruin  they  are  meditating ; 
who  decorate  and  adorn  with   garlands  the  victim 
that  they  are  leading  to  the  slaughter.     How  often 
whilst  the  heart  is   warmed   by  no  tender  feeling, 
whilst  it  is  freezing  with  indifference,  nay,  whilst 
it  is  rankling  with  envy,  or  disquieted  by  anger, 
do  professions   of    regard  and  attachment  proceed 
from  the  lips.     How  often  are  proffers  of  service 
and  desires  for  our  happiness,  uttered  by  the  mouth 
that  has  just  been  employed  in  stabbing  our  reputa- 
tion, and  that  in  a  few  minutes  will  load  us  with 
slanders  and  hold  us  up  to  ridicule.     Such  is  the 
world  ;  and  he  who  believing  all  its  professions  re- 
lies upon  it,  is  just  as  wise  as  the  man  who  should 
attempt  to  rear  an  edifice  on  the  light  air,  or  on  the 
yielding  waves  of  the  sea.     I  do  not  give  an  ex- 
aggerated representation  of  its  insincerity.     Those 
of  you    will    attest   its    truth    who,    deceived  by 
■vain   assurances  of  affection,  by  feigned   expres- 
sions of  respect,  supposed  that  you  had  found  warm 
and  real  friends  ;  but  who  in  the  hour  of  trial  have 
found  these  pretended  friends,  on  whose  professions 
and  caresses  you  confidently  relied,  cold,  distant,  in- 
sensible to  the  voice  of  your  needs,  treacherously- 
abandoning  you.     Those  of  you  will  attest  its  truth, 

O 


106  SERMON  V. 

who  have  been  the  dupes  of  the  men  whom  yon 
imagined  truly  attached  to  your  interests  ;  whose 
confidence  has  been  betrayed  by  those  in  whom 
you  supposed  it  most  surely  placed  ;  who  have 
found  by  sad  experience,  that  the  professions  of  the 
world  are  generally  a  stratagem*  which  self-love 
employs  for  the  accomplishment  of  its  designs. 
Yes,  my  brethren,  it  is  too  evident,  that  when  the 
world,  with  a  flattering  voice  and  a  smiling  counte- 
nance cries  to  us,  Peace  be  unto  you ;  this  wish 
generally  conies  not  from  the  heart,  and  is  infected 
with  the  mortal  poison  of  insincerity. 

Disgusted  with  its  treachery,  indignant  at  its  false- 
hood, let  us  turn  our  thoughts  towards  the  Saviour. 
He  also  exclaims,  Peace  be  unto  you  ;  he  also  cries, 
Peace  I  leave  with  you :  But  he  gives  this  peace 
to  his  disciples,  not  cs  the  world  does.  There  is  no 
falsehood,  no  dissimulation  in  the  expressions  of 
his  friendship,  in  the  good  wishes  which  he  utters — 
they  proceed  from  a  heart  which  never  knew  guile, 
into  which  deceit  never  entered.  Hating  and  re- 
proving every  sin,  his  indignation  was  however,  pe- 
culiarly excited  by  fraud  and  hypocrisy ;  and  if  he 
ever  laid  aside  his  meekness  and  gentleness,  it  was 
to  direct  his  thunders  and  pronounce  his  woes  upon 
the  Pharisees,  whose  outward  deportment  and  lan- 
guage, accorded  not  with  their  inward  sentiments, 
"  All  his  promises  are  yea  and  amen  :"  "  None 
ever  trusted  in  him,  and  were  confounded."    He 


SERMON  V.  107 

never  deceived  the  hope,  he  never  betrayed  the  con- 
fidence of  a  single  soul  that  relied  upon  his  assu- 
rances and  rested  upon  his  word.  In  thus  commend- 
ing the  Saviour,  do  I  assert  what  is  questionable 
and  incapable  of  proof  ?     Ah  no  !    every  single 
believer  on  earth,  every  single  glorified  spirit  in 
heaven,  is  ready  to  lift  up  his  voice,  and  avouch  the 
faithfulness,  the  veracity,  the  sincerity  of  his  Re- 
deemer.    Believers,  tell  the  unhappy  men  who  have 
no  other  reliance  than  a  world  which  perpetually 
dupes,  deludes,  disappoints  them,  that  the  Saviour 
is  a  friend  who  will  never  frustrate  their  expec- 
tations, who  will   in    the  hour  of  trial  justify  his 
sincerity    by   the     most    clear    and    unequivocal 
proofs.     Tell  them  that  when  in  seasons  of  affliction 
and  distress,  the  world  abandoned  you,  and  forgot 
all  those  professions  which  it  so  prodigally  made  in 
the  hour  of  your  prosperity  ;  the  promises  of  Je- 
sus were  not  forgotten  by  him,    his  declarations 
were  verified  by   the  consolations  which  he  gave 
you,  and  the  unkindness  and  treachery  of  others 
were  forgotten,  whilst  with  the  beloved  disciple,  you 
leaned  on  his  sympathizing  bosom,  and  there  pour- 
ed out  your  griefs  and  disburdened  your  sorrows. 
Inhabitants  of  heaven,  ye  can  declare  that  during 
the   whole   course  of  your  pilgrimage    on    earth, 
your  heavenly  friend  ever  attested    the    sincerity 
of  his  affection  by  fulfilling  every  promise,  by  sa- 
tisfying every  hope  which  he  authorized  you  to 
form,  by  "  never  leaving  nor  forsaking  you."     Ye 


108  SERMON  V. 

can  tell  us,  that  when  in  your  closing  hours,  you 
committed  your  departing  souls  with  all  their  wants 
and  sins  and  interests  to  him,  he  proved  a  faithful 
Redeemer,  receiving  your  disembodied  spirits  into 
his  embraces,  appearing  as  their  Advocate  and  Sa- 
viour before  the  eternal  throne,  blotting  out  all  their 
sins  by  the  precious  blood  which  gushed  from  his 
veins  upon  Calvary,  and  imputing  to  them  his  per- 
fect righteousness.  Ye  can  tell  us,  that  in  the  land 
of  blessedness  in  which  you  dwell,  all  his  promises 
are  fulfilled,  all  his  assurances  verified,  all  your  ex- 
pectations exceeded  :  and  having  thus  suspended 
for  a  moment  your  adoration,  to  proclaim  to  us  the 
praises  of  your  Saviour,  ye  again  will  fall  before 
his  throne  and  with  renewed  fervour  exclaim, 
"  Faithful  and  true  are  all  thy  ways,  thou  King  of 
Saints." 

Oh !  my  brethren,  ought  wre  not  to  seek  the  friends- 
ship  of  such  a  Saviour  ?  Amidst  the  fluctuations 
and  miseries  of  life,  we  need  some  sure  support  on 
which  we  may  confidently  lean,  some  faithful  friend 
on  whom  we  may  unreservedly  rely :  an  insincere 
world  is  not  calculated  to  be  such  a  support,  such  a 
friend  :  an  insincere  world  will  act  towards  us  as 
the  treacherous  Joab  did  to  Amasa,  come  with  the 
accents  of  peace  in  its  mouth,  while  it  is  preparing 
to  stab  us  to  the  heart:  a  sincere,  a  faithful,  a 
guileless  Jesus,  is  such  a  sure  support,  such  a  pre- 
cious friend. 


SERMON  V.  109 

2.  When  the  world  exclaims  to  us,  Peace  be  unto 
you,  it  is  not  always  insincere  and  deceitful ;  but 
even  when  it  most  strongly  desires  our  happiness,  it 
is  -weak  and  without  power  to  afford  us  a  complete  fe- 
licity.    Man  is  feeble,  indigent,  unhappy.     We  are 
subject  to  so  many  infirmities,   so  many  afflictions 
surround  us,  so  many  evils  assail  us,  that  it  is  im- 
possible to  make  the  humiliating  detail  of  them ; 
and  surely  then  it  is  impossible  that  the  world  can 
remove  them.     Tell  me,  ye  mortals,  who  are  blest 
with  a  generous  temper,  and   placed  in  a  situation 
where  you  can  exercise  your  friendship  by  the  be- 
stowal of  all  the  favours  which  the  world  idolizes  ; 
tell  me,  what  are  the  enjoyments  which  your  friends 
may  expect  from  you  ?     A  little  wealth,  a  little  glo- 
ry, some  pleasures,  some  advantages,  which  always 
bear  that  stamp  of  imperfection  that  is  attached  to 
all  terrestrial  objects.     This  is  all  that  your  most 
ingenious  and  most  communicative  kindness  can 
bestow.     But,  I  appeal  to  yourselves,  can  this  make 
me  perfectly  happy,   since  I  have  numberless  in- 
ward sources  of  sorrow  which  are  not  at  all  affected 
by  these  outward  blessings  ?     To  be  happy,  the 
guilt  of  sin  must  be   removed  from  my  soul,  and 
the    reign  of  sin    in  my  heart   be   abolished  :  to 
be  happy,  my  mind  must  be  enlightened,  my  soul 
purified,     my     affections    and    passions    restored 
to  order  and    harmony,    my    will    subjugated  to 
the  will   of  God,  my  eternal  felicity  secured,  and 
m  offended  Judge  converted  into  a  tender  Father, 


110  SERMON  V. 

The  aching  void  in  my  heart  will  not  be  filled, 
till  these  effects  be  produced  :  Tell  me,  generous 
mortals,  can  you  produce  them  ?  Can  you  avert 
ten  thousand  other  evils  which  press  upon  me,  and 
prevent  me  from  being  perfectly  happy  ?  Oh  no  I 
though  you  say  from  the  heart,  Peace  be  unto  you  ; 
though  you  sincerely  desire  that  I  should  enjoy  a 
consummate  and  unmingled  felicity,  yet  your  pow- 
er, far  more  limited  than  your  wishes,  prevents  you 
from  conferring  it  on  me. 

Thus    unable    to   find  full   happiness  from  the 
world,  shall  we,  my  brethren,  entirely  despair  of 
attaining  it  ?     No,  for  Jesus  gives  peace  not  as  the 
world  does :  his  wishes  can  all  be  accomplished,  for 
his  power  is  irresistible.     Raise  your  thoughts  then 
from  feeble  mortals  to  the  mighty  Saviour.     li  He 
is  able  to  do  abundantly  above  what  wc  ask  or 
think."     He  gives  unmingled  felicity  to  angels  ; 
can  he    not    satisfy    worms?     The  possessor  of 
heaven  and  of  earth,  he  can  at  his  will  dispose  of 
the  treasures  which  they  contain,  and  from  the  ex- 
haustless  source  of  his  all-sufficiency,  can  cause  the 
streams  of  his  mercy  to  flow  upon  us.     With  such 
a  protector  and  friend,  what  will  be  wanting  to  our 
felicity  ?      He  can   give  us  all  temporal  blessings 
which  are  best  for  us,  avert  from  us  every  evil,  di- 
rect us  in  all  our  perplexities,  sustain  us  in  all  our 
sorrows.      He  can  give  us  every  spiritual  favour, 
every  supernatural  grace.     He  can  comfort  us  in 


SERMON  V.  Ill 

the  midst  of  all  our  trials,  lighten  their  weight,  and 
abridge  their  duration.  He  can  give  peace  and 
hope  to  our  afflicted  hearts  and  wounded  con- 
sciences. In  every  agony  that  can  befal  us  in  life, 
in  our  last  contest  with  death,  he  can  communicate 
to  us  such  joys  that  our  full,  our  overflowing  hearts, 
will  have  no  other  regret  left  to  them,  except  their 
inability  properly  to  express  their  gratitude. 

The  world  is  impotent ;  the  Saviour  is  almighty  : 
this  is  the  second  point  of  contrast. 

3.  The  peace  which  the  world  gives,  is  limited 
in  its  duration.  Inconstant  and  variable,  men  fre- 
quently change  their  sentiments  and  opinions  : 
the  same  persons  who  now  say  to  us  with  affection, 
Peace  be  unto  you,  in  a  little  time  may  become  our 
bitterest  enemies.  Frequently  the  slightest  cir- 
cumstances prevent  a  repetition  of  those  good  wish- 
es and  tender  sentiments,  which  had  been  indulged 
for  years.  We  can  never  be  assured  of  the  inva- 
riable continuance  of  the  peace  which  the  world 
«ives  us.  It  is  otherwise  with  that  which  Jesus 
gives  to  his  followers.  He  has  engaged  never  to 
withdraw  his  favour,  and  "  to  love  those  to  the 
end  whom  he  has  once  loved."  He  changes  not, 
and  "  his  gifts  and  calling  are  without  repentance." 

But  even  supposing,  my  brethren,  that  those 
who  have  desired  that  we  might  enjoy  peace  and 


112  SERMON  V. 

happiness,  preserved  these  sentiments  while  they 
live  ;  yet  the  tenderest  friendship  continues  but 
for  a  time.  The  moment  must  come,  in  which  we 
must  bid  a  last  adieu  to  those  who  were  interested 
in  our  happiness,  and  to  whom  our  souls  were 
bound  ;  to  those  who  were  the  dearest  part  of  our. 
selves,  and  whose  society  constituted  our  joy* 
You  must  be  wrested  from  us,  tender  and  faithful 
friends,  and  nothing  be  left  to  our  desolate  hearts, 
but  afflictive  regrets  and  a  bitter  remembrance  of 
having  once  possessed  you.  With  you  will  be  en- 
tombed the  peace  which  you  gave,  the  felicity  which 
you  conferred.  But  for  us,  what  will  there  re- 
main? What,  my  brethren?  Jesus,  our  Re- 
deemer, who  gives  not  his  peace  as  the  world  does  : 
Jesus,  who  can  abundantly  replace  those  whom  we 
weep  :  Jesus,  in  whose  communion  we  can  find  in- 
finitely more  than  we  have  lost :  Jesus,  on  whom 
time  and  death  have  no  power,  since  though  u  he 
was  dead,  he  is  alive  again,  and  liveth  forever  and 
ever  :"  Jesus,  who,  when  the  hour  of  our  dissolu- 
tion arrives,  will  receive  our  disembodied  spirits, 
will  at  last  raise  our  bodies  from  the  dust,  will  in 
heaven  make  us  experience  his  tenderness,  and 
cause  us  through  eternity  to  enjoy  the  perfection 
of  peace. 

Blessed  Jesus!  when  we  anticipate  this  celestial 
felicity  we  acknowledge  that  thou  didst  truly  say, 
"  Not  as  the  world  giveth  give  I  unto  you." 


SERMON  V.  113 

Such,  christians,  is  your  religion ;  the  parent  of 
peace,  a  support  to  the  weakness  of  human  nature, 
a  bulwark  against  external  distresses.  Cherish  it; 
love  it ;  practise  it  more  faithfully,  that  you  may  en- 
joy more  of  its  consolations. 

Such,  sinners,  is  the  religion  which  we  invite 
you  to  embrace.  Do  we  require  too  much  of  you  ; 
are  we  austere,  morose,  enemies  to  your  happiness, 
when  we  entreat  you  to  secure  for  yourselves  these 
unfading  joys  ? 

Such,  infidels,  is  the  religion  which  you  oppose* 
If  you  have  not  its  consolations,  we  pity  you  from 
our  hearts  ;  but  if  you  attempt  to  wrest  them  from 
others,  what  do  vou  not  deserve  ?     A  firm  belief 
in  it  has  supported,  still  supports  thousands  of  your 
afflicted  fellow- creatures.     Stripped  of  all   earthly 
enjoyments,  exposed  to  penury,  contempt  and  be- 
reavement, they  have  been  rendered  contented  and 
happy  by  the  gospel  of  Jesus.      Will  you  strive  to 
pluck  from  them   this,  their  last,  and  only  solace  ? 
Are  you  not    satisfied  with  seeing  them   already 
sinking  under  temporal  calamities,  unless  you  can 
tear  from  them  their  spiritual  joys,  and  deprive  them 
of    the  hope   of   immortality  ?     Oh  !    how  often 
when  I  have  witnessed  the  last  hours  of  the  saints^ 
and  seen  them  departing  in  triumph,  upheld  by  that 
peace  which  their   Saviour  conferred  on  them,  have 
\  wished  that  vou.  unhelievcrs,  miq-ht  beheld  these 

P 


114  SERMON  V. 

scenes  with  me.  I  would  then  point  you  to  the 
departing  christian,  I  would  say  to  you — See  this 
believer  convulsed  and  racked  with  pain,  straining 
his  dim  eyes  for  the  last  time  upon  the  objects  dear- 
est to  his  heart,  about  to  be  separated  from  all  earth- 
ly enjoyments,  and  to  descend  to  the  lonely  grave. 
Yet  he  is  still  tranquil ;  nay,  triumphant.  The 
peace  of  Jesus  dwells  in  his  heart,  and  the  religion 
of  Jesus  enlightens  before  him  the  "  valley  of  the 
shadow  of  death."  Come  now  ;  tear  from  him 
these  hopes  which  solace  him :  teach  him  that  the 
joys  which  he  anticipates  are  unreal :  tell  him  that, 
instead  of  going  to  his  Redeemer,  he  is  entering 
into  a  dark,  a  dismal,  an  uncertain  future,  or  sinking 
into  gloomy  annihilation.  Come,  root  from  his 
heart  those  sentiments  which  fill  him  with  exulta- 
tion :  come,  and  force  him  to  resign  his  breath? 
Shivering,  doubtful,  and  appalled. 

You  would  shudder  at  such  a  proposal.  You 
would  think  yourself  a  monster,  a  daemon,  if  you 
complied  with  it.  -  Yet  this  cruel  effect  is  produced 
by  the  propagation  of  your  sentiments.  If  then 
you  have  not  this  peace  yourself,  be  not  so  barba- 
rous, so  brutal,  as  to  strive  to  tear  it  from  others. 


SERMON  VI, 


THE  AGONY  OF  JESUS, 

Luke  xxii.  44. 

•"'  Being  in  an  agony,  he  prayed  more  earnestly  ;  and 
his  sweat  was  as  it  were  great  drops  of  blood  Jail- 
ing down  to  the  ground" 

MY  brethren  ;  the  external  sufferings  of  your 
Saviour,  have  often,  been  described  to  you  with 
energy  and  force  ;  the  cross  has  been  reared  in 
your  presence,  and  you  have  beheld  it  red  with  the 
blood  of  your  Redeemer  ;  the  scourge,  the  thorns, 
the  nails,  and  the  spear,  which  lacerated  ihc  body 
of  the  holy  Jesus,  have  been  held  up  to  your  view. 
The  remembrance  of  these  sorrows  has  affected 
37-our  hearts  and  drawn  tears  from  your  eyes.  We 
come  to  you  to-day  to  fix  your  thoughts  on  another 
part  of  your  Saviour's  sufferings  ;  we  mean  not  to 
elevate  the  cross  in  the  midst  of  you,  and  shew 
your  Redeemer  extended  upon  it :  we  wish  not  to 
engage  your  natural  sympathy  by  directing  your 
minds  to  his  wounds  and  his  blood,  and  by  painting 
to  you  the  cruelty  of  his  executioners.  We  are  to 
consider  the  more  terrible  griefs  of  his  soul — we 
are  to  present  him  suffering,  not  under  the  iniquit- 


116  SERMON  VI. 

ous  sentence  of  Pilate,  but  under  the  awful  con- 
demnation of  God,  who  wounds  him  as  our  pledge 
and  surety — stricken,  not  by  the  ruthless  soldiery ; 
but  by  his  heavenly  Father.  O  man,  these  are  sub- 
jects which  are  calculated  equally  to  astonish  and 
console.  Let  us  meditate  on  them  with  the  most 
vigorous  attention.  "  He  that  hath  ears  to  hear,  let 
him  hear." 

Jesus  having  instituted  the  holy  sacrament,  hav 
ing  given  to  his  disciples  the  most  tender  conso- 
lations against  their  approaching  sorrows,  and  hav- 
ing offered  in  their  behalf  to  his  Father,  a  most 
affectionate  and  ardent  prayer,  departs  with  them 
from  Jerusalem,  and  crosses  the  brook  Cedron, 
which  flowed  at  the  edge  of  the  city.  Over  this 
brook  David  formerly  passed  with  a  small  number 
of  faithful  followers,  when  he  fled  from  Jerusalem 
to  avoid  the  treachery  and  violence  of  the  rebellious 
Absalom :  the  greater  son  of  David  now  crosses 
it,  not  to  flee  from,  but  to  meet  his  perfidious  be- 
trayer. Beyond  this  stream,  about  a  mile's  dis- 
tance from  the  city,  was  the  mount  of  Olives,  at 
the  foot  of  which  was  the  village  of  Gethscmane  : 
in  this  village  was  a  garden,  known  by  Judas  to  be 
often  visited  by  the  Saviour,  and  consecrated  by 
his  prayers  :  thither  he  had  often  retired  after  the 
toils  of  the  day,  to  hold  communion  with  his  Fa. 
ther ;  thither  he  now  goes  to  experience  woes  in- 
conceivable. 


SERMON  VI.  117 

Having  arrived  at  Gethsemane,  he  takes  with  him 
Peter,  and  James,  and  John,  and  retires  with  them 
to  the  hallowed  garden.  It  was  necessary  that  be- 
lievers should  know  what  Christ  had  undergone  for 
their  salvation  ;  and  as  this  was  one  of  the  principal 
scenes  of  his  sufferings,  it  was  therefore  needful 
that  he  should  have  witnesses  of  it.  But  why  were 
these  particular  disciples  chosen  from  the  rest, 
for  this  office  ?     Two  reasons  may  be  assigned. 

1.  It  appears  from  the  whole  evangelical  history, 
that  these  three  were  peculiarly  beloved  by  our 
Lord,  in  evidence  of  which  he  bestowed  upon 
them  only,  new  and  characteristic  names  ;  they  were 
as  one  of  the  Fathers  expresses  it,  "  the  elect 
among  the  elect."  Christ  therefore  by  choosing 
them  to  behold  and  participate  in  his  sufferings,  at 
once  gave  a  strong  proof  of  his  confidence  and  af- 
fection, and  has  taught  his  disciples  in  every  age 
this  useful  lesson  :  that  he  leads  not  his  favourites 
to  heaven  by  a  path  strewn  with  flowers,  and  that  a 
communion  in  his  griefs  should  be  so  far  from 
distressing  us,  that  we  should  consider  it  as  a  testi- 
mony of  his  affection. 

2.  But  a  second  reason  of  the  selection  of  these 
three  disciples  to  be  witnesses -of  his  agony  was, 
because  they  were  better  prepared  than  the  others, 
to  behold  this  deep  humiliation  of  their  Lord,  since 
they  only  had  witnessed  his  transfiguration.     It  was 


118  SERMON  VI. 

most  proper  that  those  who  had  beheld  Jesus  up- 
on Tabor,  in  the  majesty  of  his  divine  nature,  en- 
circled with  glory,adored  by  Moses  and  Eiias,  should 
behold  him  in  the  depression  of  his  human  nature, 
distressed,  and  contemplating  only  objects  of  ter- 
ror and  dismay.  That  they  who  had  heard  the 
illustrious  testimony  of  God,  "  This  is  my  beloved 
Son,"  should  also  hear  the  complaints  and  groans 
that  the  Saviour  pours  out  to  his  Father :  That 
they  who  had  seen  his  face  luminous  as  the  sun, 
should  also  behold  it  cast  down  with  grief,  and 
covered  with  a  bloody  sweat.  Had  this  last  scene 
been  presented  to  any  who  had  not  been  fortified  by 
the  first,  they  could  scarcely  have  preserved  their 
faith  unshaken  ;  they  could  scarcely  have  avoided 
doubting  whether  this  were  indeed  the  expected 
Messiah,  whether  this  were  indeed  the  object  of 
God's  paternal  love.  There  was  then  a  peculiar 
propriety  in  the  selection  of  these  three  persons  ; 
and  happy  alike  were  ye,  favoured  disciples,  when 
ye  saw  the  glory  of  the  Lord  Jesus  upon  Tabor, 
and  his  charity  for  mankind  in  Gethsemane  ;  when 
ye  saw  there  what  he  was  in  himself,  and  here  what 
he  became  for  us  ;  when  ye  witnessed  there  the 
love  that  the  heavenly  Father  bears  to  his  eternal 
Son,  and  here  the  love  which  this  Son  bears  to 
his  followers. 

The  Saviour  then    having  left  the  greater  pari 
of  his  discipks    at   the   entrance    of  the  garden* 


SERMON  VI.  121 

thus  convulsed  him,  who  with  such  firmness  met 
it  when  clothed  in  all  its  terrors  ?  What  is  then 
•that  invisible  arm  that  smites  him?  What  is  the 
cause  of  that  astonishing  grief  which  calls  down  an 
angel  from  heaven  to  strengthen  him,  the  Creator  of 
angels ;  which  urges  those  strong  cries  and  tears, 
and  forces  from  his  agonized  frame  that  dreadful 
sweat  of  blood  ? 

*  There  are  several  causes,  which  in  their  conjoined 
influence,  were  fully  sufficient  to  produce  this  won- 
derful event ;  we  will  explain  them  after  we  have- 
observed,  in  order  to  prevent  erroneous  ideas,  that 
these  sufferings  were  felt  only  by  the  human  nature 
of  Christ :  the  divine  nature,  possessed  of  infi- 
nite and  immutable  felicity,  cannot  possibly  be  af- 
fected by  any  sorrow  or  pain.  In  Christ,  the  two 
natures  were  perfectly  united  without  being  con- 
founded or  mingled  together  ;  and  in  all  his  suffer- 
ings the  divinity  did  not  exert  itself,  or  was  opera- 
tive only  in  communicating  strength  to  the  humani- 
ty, to  bear  what  would  have  been  utterly  insupport- 
able to  any  mere  man.  Its  influence  on  the  body 
was  suspended  whilst  he  remained  three  days  life- 
less ;  its  influence  on  the  soul  is  now  suspended  in 
Gethsemane. 

1.    And  this  intermission  of  the  divine  presence, 

*  See  an  excellent  discourse  on  the  causes  of  the  Agony, 
by  Bishop  Browne,  from  which  I  have  borrowed  severtd 
thoughts  in  this  sermon. 


122  SERMON  VI. 


this  withdrawal  of  the  human  nature  from  the  inef- 
fable bliss  and  consolation  of  his  Godhead,  we 
make  the  first  cause  of  the  agony  of  the  Saviour- 
It  was  proper  that  he  should  undergo  this,  since  it 
constituted  one  part  of  the  punishment  denounced 
against  the  sinner,  which  punishment  was  here 
borne  by  him.  From  the  weakness  of  our  reason 
and  the  feebleness  of  our  powers,  we  cannot  tell 
the  precise  manner  of  this  suspension  and  intermis- 
sion of  the  divine  presence,  nor  how  it  could  take 
place  in  consistence  with  the  intimate  and  insepara- 
ble union  of  the  divine  and  human  natures.  This, 
with  many  other  mysteries  of  grace  as  well  as  of 
nature,  will  not  be  perfectly  comprehended  by  us 
till  we  arrive  at  the  kingdom  of  light.  But  though 
we  cannot  explain  it,  a  few  considerations  will  shew 
that  it  produced  misery  unutterable.  The  pres- 
ence thus  withdrawn  from  our  Saviour,  is  the  source 
of  all  true  joy,  the  fountain  of  all  real  consolation, 
It  is  this,  which  alone  constitutes  heaven  ;  it  is  this 
which  fills  angels  with  extacy,  and  archangels  with 
rapture  ;  and  there  is  not  one  of  those  exalted  be- 
ings who  does  not  view  a  single  moment's  inter- 
mission of  it  with  greater  dread,  than  we  do  the 
pangs  of  death,  the  disruption  of  the  soul  from  the 
bod  v.  Of  this  cheering  presence,  the  only  fountain 
of  real  happiness,  Christ  was  now  deprived.  This 
separation  from  the  presence  of  God,  is  one  of  the 
chief  sources  of  the  misery  of  the  accursed.  "  De- 
part from  me,"  is  the  terrible  sentence  pronouns 


SERMON  VI.  123 

cd   upon  the  inhabitants  of  the  regions  of  woe. — 
Though  Christ  experienced  none  of  that  despair 
which  corrodes  the  soul  of  these  wretched  beings, 
but  still  preserved  his  faith  and  confidence,    yet  as 
far  as  this  sentence  relates  to  separation  from  God, 
the  effect  of  it  was  felt  by  him.     Oh  !    then,  how 
far  beyond  imagination  must  his  anguish  have  been  1 
Believers,  recur  for  a  moment  to  your  own  sensa- 
tions.    Have  any  periods  of  your  life  been  half  so 
wretched  as  those  in  which  the  light  of  God's  coun- 
tenance  was  eclipsed,  and  the   emanations  of  his 
love  interrupted  ?     Have  the  keenest  outward  sor- 
rows ever  given  you  pains  anywise  comparable  to 
those  felt  by  you,  when  the  presence  of  God  was 
veiled  from  your   eyes  ?     After  thinking  of  your- 
selves, consider  those  who  have  made  more  eminent 
advances  in  the  divine  life,  and  you  will  find  that 
in  exact  proportion  to  their  holiness,  is  their  anguish 
in  losing  these  spiritual  delights,  and  their  fervency 
in  crying   out,    ft  Hide  not  thy  face  from  me,  O 
Lord,   for  I   am  troubled.''      Think   then  that  if 
men,  week  and   but  partially  sanctified,    infinitely 
unable  to  comprehend  the   full  value  of  this  bles- 
sing, having  enjoyed  it  but  for  a  short  time  and  in 
a  small  degree,  inclined  from  their  natural  disposi- 
tions to  seek  for  delights  from  other  sources  ;  if 
these  were  so  deeply  afflicted  at  the  intermission  of 
the  divine  presence,  what  must  Jesus  have  felt  ? 
Jesus,  whose  holiness  was  consummate  and  without 
spot :  Jesus,  who  knew  how  properly  to  estimate 


424  SERMON  VL 

this  blessing,  and  who  made  of  it  his  only  joy  :  Je- 
sus, who  as  the  uncreated  Word  had  through  eter. 
nity  possessed  all  the  glories  of  the  Godhead  and 
enjoyed  the  cheering  light  of  his  Father's  counte- 
nance, and  who  even  in  his  human  nature  had  re- 
ceived the  Spirit  without  measure,  and  had  dwelling 
in  him  the  fullness  of  divinity — but  who  now  finds 
himself  emptied  at  once  of  what  he  had  forever  en- 
joyed, divested  of  the  ineffable  bliss  resulting  from 
the  full  communications  of  the  felicity  of  the  infi- 
nitely blessed  God.  Oh  !  in  vain  do  the  thoughts 
labour  to  comprehend  the  immensity  of  that  anguish 
-springing  from  such  a  loss.  None  but  God  can 
conceive  the  happiness  of  God ;  and  none  but  he 
tvho  knows  it,  can  tell  the  woe  arising  from  the 
loss  of  it.  My  brethren,  of  what  must  our  hearts 
be  made  if  they  can  remain  insensible,  whilst  con- 
sidering that  love  passing  knowledge,  which  for  our 
sakes  submitted  to  agonies  such  as  these.  Jesus, 
compassionate  Saviour  !  when  I  think  of  thine  out- 
ward woes,  and  bodily  pains  ;  groans,  sighs> 
tears  are  extorted  from  me — but  as  soon  as  I  medi- 
tate on  these  the  ineffable  and  mysterious  agonies  of 
thy  soul,  I  rise  above  outward  sorrow — and  filled 
with  veneration  and  awe,  I  wonder,  I  adore,  I  am 
overwhelmed  with  the  consideration  of  these  un- 
fathomable sufferings. 

2.  But  a  second  cause  of  this  agony    was,    the 
burden  of  those  sins  under  which  as  Saviour  he 


SERMON  VI.  125 

laboured.     On  him  was  laid  the  iniquity  of  us  all : 
he  was  to  become  the  propitiation  for  the  trans- 
gressions of  the  whole  world.     Consider  but  a  mo- 
ment, and  you  will  see  how  this  must  have  weigh- 
ed down  his  holy    soul.     He  perfectly  knew  the 
infinite  guilt  and  odiousness  of  that  sin  to  atone  for 
which  he  was  to  be  offered  in  sacrifice.     We  view 
it  with  comparative  indifference,  because  we  have 
such  inadequate  ideas  of  its  nature  :  but  he  clearly 
saw  how  loathsome  it  is  in  the  sight  of  God,  how 
opposed  to  his  character  and  law,  how  base  an  in- 
gratitude to  our  heavenly  Father,  how  polluting  to 
our  own  souls.     He  beheld  the  infinite  number  of 
those  sins  for  which  he  was  to  expiate  :  each  one  of 
them  with  all  its  aggravations  was  present   to  his 
view.      With  what   horror   and   detestation  must 
the  contemplation  of  this  vast   heap  of  guilt  have 
filled  his  holy  soul :  and  how  severe  must  have  been 
the  aspect  of  that  infinite   justice,  how  terrible  its 
strokes,  which  he  now  was  to  satisfy  to  the  uttermost. 
Now  it  was  that "  God  made  him  to  be  sin  for  us  that 
knew  no  sin  ;"  now  it  was  that  "  the  arrows  of  the 
Almighty  were  within  him,  and  the  terrors   of  the 
Lord  set  in  array  against  him  ;"  now  it  was  that  "  it 
pleased  the  Lord  to  bruise  him,  to  put  him  to  grief, 
and  to  make  his  soul  an  offering  for  sin  ;"  now  it 
was  that  the  wrath  of  God  flamed  against  him,  stand- 
ing in  our  stead,  with  as  much  violence  as  though  it 
had  exerted  itself  in  one  act  against  the  wickedness 


126  SERMON  VI. 

of  all  mankind.     It  is  true  that  during  all  this  time 
he  was  most  dear  to  God,  and  that  the  Father  be- 
held him  with  peculiar  affection,  whilst  he  was  lay- 
ing down  his  life  for  the  glory  of  God  and  the  sal- 
vation of  man.      Nevertheless  it    is  certain  that 
the  fierce   anger   of  God  was  exercised  upon  him* 
Any  apparent  inconsistency  in   these  assertions  re- 
sults from  our  ignorance  of  the  divine  attributes  : 
we  are  apt  to  suppose  that  these  attributes  resemble 
human  affections,  and   then  to  imagine  contradic- 
tions and  inconsistencies.     The  truth  is,  we  know 
not  what  anger  is  in  God  ;  we  have  no  idea  what- 
ever of  the  manner  in  which  Christ  bore  it— but 
we   know  that  he  did  bear  it  although  he  was  the 
object  of  the  Father's  tenderest  love.     When  we 
consider  these  circumstances,  can  we  wonder  at  his 
agony  ?     He  experienced  not  merely  the  reproach- 
es, the  contumelies,  the  barbarities  of  men,  but  as 
our  Redeemer  and  Surety,  bearing  the  load  of  our 
guilt,  he  felt  the  pressure  of  Almighty  vengeance  ; 
he  felt  the  severity  of  that  anger  before   which  the 
mountains  tremble  and  the  earth  vanishes  away  ;  he 
received  in  his  own  bosom  all  the  violence  of  that 
indignation  which  the  united  constancy  of  men,  and 
force  of  angels  could  not  have  sustained ;  he  was 
encircled  by  those  fires  which  would  instantly  have 
consumed  any   but  a  divine  victim.     Ah  !  could 
the  Saviour  fail  to  be  agonized  when  he  here  bent 
under  this  wrath  in   the  garden,  and  anticipated 


SERMON  VI.  127 

its  infliction  on  the  cross  ?  The  mere  conception  of 
these  woes,  which  outweighed  the  sins  of  the  whole 
world,  would  be  sufficient  to  overwhelm  us  :  could 
we  but  have  a  clear  prospect  of  them,  our  souls 
would  be  filled  with  astonishment  and  horror,  the 
consideration  of  the  mighty  weight  of  anguish  would 
make  us  like  our  Saviour,  sweat  drops  of  blood  ; 
our  very  frames  must  be  dissolved  :  What  mortal 
or  what  angel  then,  can  tell  the  anguish  arising  from 
its  endurance  ?  *    ^ 

3.  We  may  find  a  third  cause  for  this  grief  in 
the  reflections  made  by  Christ,  that  millions  would 
obstinately  neglect  his  sufferings  and  receive  no 
benefit  from  them.  He  saw  that  although  that 
death  towards  which  he  was  advancing,  would  be  a 
sufficient  atonement  for  the  sins  of  the  world,  vet 
nevertheless  his  followers  would  be  few.  Looking 
down  through  successive  ages  he  beheld  the  much- 
beloved  Jerusalem,  to  which  the  gospel  of  salvation 
had  in  vain  been  offered,  filling  up  the  measure  of 
its  crimes,  reduced  to  ruin  by  the  Roman  armies, 
and  its  faithless  inhabitants  consigned  to  everlasting 
woe.  He  beheld  those  numbers  who  in  every  age 
neglect  his  grace  ;  those  miserable  men  who  in  our 
days  trample  upon  the  blood  of  atonement,  despise 
his  full  and  perfect  sacrifice,  and  aim  their  impotent 
attempts  against  his  holy  faith.  He  beheld  the 
countless  multitude  of  open  sinners  "  glorying  in 


12&  SERMON  VI. 

their  shame;"  of  lukewarm  professors  "  having  the 
form  of  godliness  without  the  power."     And  now 
think  what  sensations  would  be  excited  in  the  breast 
of  the  Redeemer  by   such  a  view.     His  concern 
for  the   salvation   of  mankind  was  boundless  ;  his 
compassion  for  our  miseries  most  tender ;  his  wish 
to  rescue  us  from  sin  and  perdition  most  strong. 
Could  he,  whose  love  passes  knowledge,  whose  com- 
passion for  every  one  of  us  was  infinitely  greater 
than  we  can  have   for  ourselves  ;    could  he,  who 
more  than  once  wept  over  perishing  Jerusalem  ;  he, 
whose  heart  melted  with  pity  even  for  his  cruci- 
iiers,  and  who  in  the  midst  of  his  tortures  poured 
out  his  prayers  to  heaven  in  their  behalf;  could  he 
view  the  eternal  perdition  of  so  many  millions  with- 
out sorrow  unutterable  ?     He  alone  knew  the  full 
extent  of  this  perdition  ;  to  him  damnation  was  not  a 
word  of  empty  sound  ;  he  fully  comprehended  the 
agonies  of  a  soul  ever  gnawed  by  that  worm  which 
dieth  not,  ever  rolling  in  those  flames  which  arc 
not  quenched,  ever  sinking  deeper  and  deeper  in 
wretchedness  and  despair.     Add  to  this,  that  as  the 
Saviour  was  possessed  of   infinite  knowledge,  he 
beheld  these  scenes  as  actually  present.     He  beheld 
all  these  transgressors  already  standing  at  his  bar, 
already  condemned,  already  sinking  in  the  devour, 
ing  flames,  already  exposed  naked  and  unarmed 
to   the   lashes  of  an    enraged  conscience  ;  already 
weighed  down  by  the  terrible  indignation  of  the 
Lord  God  Almighty.     What  anguish  must  this 


SERMON  VI.  -    129 

contemplation  have  excited  in  the  Saviour,  especial- 
ly when  he  considered  that  these  were  the  last  tears 
he  was  to  pay  to  the  sad  destiny  of  these  unhappy 
men,  since  he  was  now  going  to  re-assume  the  throne 
of  glory  on  which  no  tears  are  shed,  where  no  sor- 
row could  invade  his  heart. 

4.  But  the  last  cause  of  the  agony,  was  the  injec- 
tions and  assaults  of  evil  spirits.    This  is  intimated 
in  several  parts  of  the  gospel.     After  the  tempta- 
tion   of  Jesus  in  the  wilderness,  Satan  is  said   to 
have  departed  from  him  "  for  a  season  ;"  and  in  the 
evangelical  history  we  meet  with  no  period  for  his 
return,  more  probable  than  this.    Christ  immediate- 
ly before  entering  into  the  garden  tells  his  disciples, 
"  The  prince  of  the  world  cometh ;"  and  when  ap- 
prehended by  the  Jews  says  to  them,  "  This  is  your 
hour  and  the  power   of  darkness."     These  texts 
seem  clearly  to  imply  that  Christ  had  now  to  contend 
with  the  band  of  apostate  spirits.     Foreseeing  per- 
haps that  his  death  was  to  be  the  expiation  of  the 
sins  of  the  world,  and  that  through  its  merits  man- 
kind were  to  be  put  in  possession  of  the  place  which 
they  once  held  in  heaven,  they  may  have  endeavour- 
ed to  terrify  him  from  it,  or  to  render  it  involuntary 
and  constrained,  and  therefore  useless.    At  any  rate, 
they  would  rejoice  to  glut  their  vengeance  upon  him 
whowasexpelling  them  from  the  bodies,  and  shaking 
their  dominion  in  the  souls  of  men.     Ah  !  how  keen 
must  have  laeen   their  attacks  when,  irritated  by 

R 


130  SERMON  VI. 

shameful  defeats  in  all  their  previous  assaults,  urged 
on  by  diabolical  malice,  having  free  access  to  the 
soul  of  the  Redeemer  without  the  intervention  of 
bodily  organs,  and  dreadfully  powerful  from  their 
subtlety  and  long  experience  in  wickedness,  they 
poured  in  upon  him  a  flood  of  temptations,  and  as- 
sailed him  with  evil  and  afflictive  suggestions. 

Such  were  the  adequate  causes  of  that  dreadful 
agony  which  so  agitated  the  mind  of  the  Redeemer, 
and  so  afflicted  his  body,  that  blood  gushed   from 
every  pore.     Human  capacities  cannot  conceive  the 
extent  and  bitterness  of  these    sufferings ;  human 
language  cannot  describe  them :  bowing  under  them 
he  prostrated  himself  upon  the  ground,  and  poured 
forth  his  fervent  petitions  to  Almighty  God,  saying 
"  O  my  Father,  if  it  be  possible,  let  this  cup  pass 
from  me ;  nevertheless  not  as  I  will,  but  as  thou 
wilt."     He   does  not  here  pray   for  a  deliverance 
from  the  death  of  the  cross,  as  some  have  supposed  : 
at  the  prospect  of  this  he  was  never  daunted  ;  he 
knew  that  the  prophecies  and  decrees  of  God  made 
it  irreversibly  necessary  ;  he  ever  rebuked  with  se- 
verity his  disciples,  when  they  would  dissuade  him 
from  it ;  and,  what  is  conclusive,  the  apostle  Paul 
(Heb.  vi.  7.)    speaking  evidently    of  these   very 
supplications  says,  "  he  was  heard  in  that  he  fear- 
ed ;"  an  assertion  that  would  plainly  be  untrue,  if 
he  prayed  for  a  deliverance  from  death.    The  afflic- 
tion which  the  Saviour  desired  to  be  removed  (and 


SERMON  VI.  131 

which  by  a  common  figure  he  denominated  a  cup,) 
was  that  distress  and  agony  with  which  he  was  then 
assailed ;  and  it  was  removed,  for  he  immediately  be- 
came calm  and  placid  and  composed. 

From  the  several  circumstances  of  the  agony 
thus  considered,  we  derive  many  instructions  and 
valuable  lessons, 

1.  We  learn  from  the  example  of  our  Saviour, 
what  conduct  becomes  a  christian  when  under  afflic- 
tion and  distress.  The  christian  religion  requires 
no  stoical  insensibility,  no  sullen  apathy,  no  haughty 
contempt  of  the  evils  of  life.  It  permits  us  like  our 
divine  master  in  this  event  of  his  life,  to  feel  and 
lament  the  infelicities  of  our  situation  ;  to  deprecate 
those  calamities  which  we  see  approaching;  yet 
notwithstanding  it  thus  condescends  to  the  frailty 
of  our  nature,  it  nevertheless  requires  that  when 
these  afflictive  judgments  come,  we  should  be  per- 
fectly submissive  to  the  dispensations  of  God  ;  that 
even  whilst  our  tears  flow  we  should  acquiesce  in 
his  disposal ;  that  the  voice  of  nature  exclaiming, 
"  Father,  if  it  be  possible  let  this  cup  pass  from 
me,"  should  be  mingled  with  the  accents  of  resig- 
nation, "  Not  my  will  but  thine  be  done." 

2.  We  learn  from  this  subject  how  great  is  the 
love  of  God,  and  the  Redeemer  for  the  children  of 
men.— "  Now  I  know  that  thou  lovest  me,"  said 


132  SERMON  VI. 

God  to  Abraham  when  he  prepared  to  sacrifice  t© 
him  his  son.     And  shall  not  we,  heavenly  Father, 
acknowledge  thy  love  when  for  our  salvation  thou 
givest  thine   eternal   Sou  to   such  infinite  tortures. 
"Behold  how  he  loved  him,"  was  the  exclamation 
of  the  Jews  when  they  beheld  Jesus  weeping  over 
the  tomb  of  Lazarus  ;  in  how  much  stronger  a  man- 
ner does  he  attest  his  charity  in  Gethsemane,  where 
he    sheds  tears  of  blood.  Courage    then,   christian 
soul  !  confident  of  the  affection  of  thy   Redeem- 
er, what  needest  thou  dread  ?     By  his  agony  he  has 
taken  from  you  all  cause  of  sorrow  ;  his  griefs  will 
fill  you  with  joy,  his  fears  with  assurance — He   has 
suffered  for  you,  who  shall  condemn  you  ?     As  he 
is  able,  so  he  proves  himself  to  be  willing  to  dis- 
pense to  you  every  thing  that  shall  conduce  to  your 
greatest  happiness    and  final   salvation.       He  will 
*'  make  all  things  work   together  for  your  good  :" 
his  agony  attests  that  his  love  to  you  is  too  great  to 
deny  you  any  real  blessing.   Courage,  christian  soul  ! 
the  recollection  of  the  agony  of  Jesus  will  support 
you  amidst  all  your  distresses ;  though  you  are  poor, 
sick,  persecuted,   surrounded  by  enemies,  the  re- 
membrance of  Jesus  in  the  garden  will  cheer  you,  and 
you  will  rejoice  that  you  are  "  counted  worthy  to 
suffer  with  him,"  that  you  "  may  also  be  glorified 
together."    Courage,  christian  soul  !  this  is  a  source 
of  joy  which  even  the   king  of  terrors  cannot  wrest 
from  you.     In  the  last  struggle  of  dissolving  nature, 
when  the  vanishing  wqrld  shall  be   unable  to  afford 


SERMON  VL  133 

you  support,  you  shall  fix  your  closing  eyes  upon  the 
agonized  Saviour  expiating  for  your  offences,  the 
accusations  of  conscience  shall  be  silenced  ;  all  your 
afflictions  shall  cease,  and  you  shall  pass  from  the 
contemplation  of  the  tortured  Jesus,  to  the  arms  of 
Jesus  reigning  and  triumphing  in  glory. 

3.  Finally,  what  can  more  strongly  illustrate  at  the 
same  time  the  infinite  odiousness  of  sin  and  the  in- 
finite justice  of  God,  than  this  view  of  Jesus  inGeth- 
semane  ?     You  know  that  of  himself  he  is  essen- 
tial holiness ;  that  clothed  in  his  divine  glories  he 
was  the  object  of  adoration,  and  the  source  of  feli- 
city to  all  the  blest  in  heaven  ;  that  whilst  he  taber- 
nacled upon  earth  he  knew  sin  only  to  combat  and 
destroy  it ;  that  to  him  that  illustrious  testimony  was 
given,  which  re-echoed  along  the  banks  of  Jordan  and 
resounded  on  the  top  of  Tabor,  "  This  is  my  beloved 
Son,  in  whom  I  am  well  pleased ;"  yet  no   sooner 
did  he  undertake  "  to  bear  the  sins  of  man  in  his 
own  body,"  than  the  sword  of  almighty  justice  was 
drawn  against  even  him  and  was  dyed  with  his  heart's 
blood.     My  brethren,  if  God  spared  not  his  own 
$on,  what  will  be  our  condemnation  if  we  continue 
impenitent.    If  we  remain  without  an  interest  in  the 
Saviour,  what  asylum,  what  city  of  refuge  can  we 
find  to  shelter  us  against  that  justice  which  is  so 
powerful,  that  it  crushes  a  God-man — so  holy,  that 
it  punishes  in  him  even  imputed  sins — so  severe, 
that  nothing  buthis  blood  and  his  death  could  appease 


134  SERMON  VI. 

it — so  inflexible,  that  it  regarded  not  the  dignity  even 
of  the  Redeemer. — These  are  dreadful  thoughts  ; 
stifle  them  not,  I  beseech  you,  by  the  cares  and  de- 
lights of  the  world  ;  you  may  lead  yourselves  to  for- 
get them  now  ;  but  they  will  return  with  awful  force 
upon  your  bed  of  death.  At  this  last  hour  when 
every  thing  will  abandon  you,  when  all  human  suc- 
cours shall  become  useless  to  you,  when  those  delu- 
sive blessings  which  you  enjoyed  upon  earth  shall 
be  torn  from  you,  then  the  sufferings  of  Christ  which 
might  have  been  your  resource,  your  refuge,  your 
strength,  shall  fill  you  with  the  most  lively  fears  and 
dismay.  You  will  shudder  when  you  consider  this 
Saviour  sacrificed  by  the  same  justice  which  will  then 
cite  you  to  its  tribunal ;  notwithstanding  all  the  effi- 
cacy of  a  divine  blood,  it  will  give  no  hope  to  you  : 
and  when  your  soul,  torn  at  last  from  your  body, 
shall  fall  defenceless  and  polluted  before  the  throne 
of  the  holy  God,  what,  ah  !  what  will  then  be  your 
destiny  ?  what  will  be  the  inflictions  of  that  justice 
which  here  manifested  its  power  and  severity  by 
wounding  the  Saviour?  of  that  justice  which  will 
consider  the  agonies  of  Christ  as  aggravating  your 
guilt,  and  impressing  more  deeply  on  your  soul  the 
seal  of  eternal  reprobation. 


SERMON  VII. 

THE  CRUCIFIXION. 

A  SACRAMENTAL    DISCOURSE. 

Luke  xxiii.  33. 

<;  And  when  they  -were  come  to  the  place  that  is  called  Calva- 
ry, there  they  crucified  him." 

PAUL,  the  greatest  of  the  apostles,  determin- 
ed to  know  nothing  except  Christ  crucified  ;  and 
even  Moses  and  Elias,  when  they  descended  from 
the  abodes  of   bliss  and  appeared  on  the  mount  of 
transfiguration,  conversed  of  the  decease  which  the 
Saviour  was  to  accomplish  at  Jerusalem.     Did  each 
one  of  you  then,  my  brethren,  possess  the  wisdom 
and  piety  of  the  apostles,  the   extended  capacities 
and  the  ardent  zeal  of  glorified  immortals,  I  could 
find  no  properer  subject  on  which  to  address  you, 
than  the  sufferings  of  Jesus  ;  I  could  do  nothing  of 
more  importance  than  to  elevate  the  cross  in  your 
presence,  and  shew  you  the  mighty  Redeemer  ex- 
tended upon  it. 

The  sacrifice  of  his  Saviour,  is  an  object  which 
the  christian  should  never  suffer  to  escape  from  his 


13G  SERMON  VII. 

remembrance ;  it  should  at  all  times  be  the  theme 
of  his  meditations,  for  it  is  the  source  of  all  his  com- 
forts, the  foundation  of  all  his  hopes,  the  most 
powerful  incentive  to  the  performance  of  his  duties. 
His  mind  should  therefore  often  be  fixed  upon  Gol- 
gotha, and  the  doleful  tragedy  that  was  there  exhibit- 
ed. But  especially  on  such  an  occasion  as  the  pres- 
ent, when  we  have  met  together  to  commemorate  the 
dying  love  of  Jesus,  nothing  can  be  more  proper, 
than  to  fix  our  thoughts  and  meditations  on  those 
final  woes  which  at  once  most  illustriously  attested 
his  love  and  consummated  the  sacrifice  of  our  re- 
demption. And  this  is  the  subject  to  which  our  atten- 
tion is  called,  for  the  sole  design  and  the  whole  divi- 
sion of  this  discourse,  is 

I.  To  review  the  final  sufferings  of  the  Saviour, 
and 

II.  To  shew  you  some  of  the  duties,  and  present 
you  with  some  of  the  consolations  which  result  from 
the  contemplation  of  these  sufferings. 

1.  Then  we  are  to  review  the  final  sufferings  of 
the  Saviour.  We  confine  ourselves  to  these  last 
scenes  of  woe,  both  because  our  time  will  not  per- 
mit us  to  detail  to  you  all  the  afflictions  to  which  Je- 
sus submitted  during  his  continuance  on  earth,  and 
also,  because  they  of  themselves  are  sufficient  to 
awaken  all  our  sympathies,  and  to  kindle  our  holiest 


SERMON  VII.  145 

the  weight  of  his  body  continually  widens  those 
wounds — tears  his  nerves,  rends  the  flesh,  and  cau- 
ses the  most  exquisite  pain.  This  pain  is  not  tran- 
sient ;  it  continues  for  six  long  hours ;  life  lingers 
and  slowly  departs ;  drop  by  drop  it  escapes  him, 
whilst  each  moment  he  feels  more  than  the  pangs  of 
an  ordinary  death. 

He  suffered  then  acutely :  nevertheless  no  state 
can  be  supremely  miserable  when  we  have  the  pity 
and  condolence  of  those  who  surround  us.  Behold 
then  the  crowd  which  surrounds  the  cross  of  the 
Redeemer,  and  listen  to  their  expressions  of  sym- 
pathy and  compassion  :  Sympathy  !  compassion  » 
Alas,  I  hear  nothing  but  blasphemies  and  impre- 
cations, but  an  infernal  rivalship  in  guilt :  each  is 
anxious  to  exceed  others  in  cruelty,  in  indignity,  in 
wickedness.  Here  one  cries,  "  He  saved  others, 
himself  he  cannot  save:"  There,  "  If  thou  be  the 
Son  of  God,  come  down  from  the  cross."  Here 
they  exclaim,  shaking  their  heads  in  scorn,  "  O 
thou  that  destroyest  the  temple  and  buildest  it  again 
in  three  days,  display  now  the  force  of  thy  victori- 
ous arm."  There  that  dreadful  execration  strikes 
his  ears — "  His  blood  be  upon  us,  and  our  chil- 
dren." Charity  of  my  Saviour,  dost  thou  still 
endure  ?  Legions  of  angels,  merciful  Redeemer, 
wait  only  the  first  signal  of  thy  voice  to  fly  to  thy 
succour.  Though  apparently  weak  and  feeble, 
vhou  holdest  the  thunders  in  thine  hand,  wilt  thou 

T 


ft 

138  SERMON  VU. 

colder  than  the  earth  which  trembled,  more  insen  - 
sible  than  the  dead  which  started  from  their  graves. 

The  passion  of  Christ  comprehends  his  cruci- 
fixion and  its  preparatives  : — Of  these  preparatives 
we  select  three  only,  on  which  we  shall  meditate  but 
a  short  time  ;  his  scourging,  his  bearing  the  cross, 
and  his  despoilment  of  his  garments. 

Pilate  through  the  whole  of  the  examination 
of  Jesus,  attested  his  innocence,  and  declared  that 
he  found  nothing  in  him  worthy  of  death.  But 
though  his  mind  was  thus  convinced,  yet  he  dared 
not  act  in  conformity  to  its  dictates.  Conscious 
of  the  crimes  that  had  blackened  his  administration, 
fearful  of  the  Jews  who  threatened  to  accuse  him  to 
the  Roman  emperor  if  he  released  Jesus,  yet  un- 
willing to  condemn  a  person  of  whose  spotless  inno- 
cence even  he  could  not  be  insensible,  he  used  seve- 
ral expedients  to  save  the  life  of  Jesus,  without  of- 
fending his  persecutors.  One  of  these  shameful 
expedients,  was  the  delivery  of  Jesus  to  the  sol- 
diers, to  be  scourged  by  them,  that  thereby  the 
fury  of  his  enemies  might  be  allayed,  and  their 
compassion  excited.  The  brutal  and  inhuman 
soldiery,  who  had  long  been  habituated  to  murder, 
and  inured  to  blood,  with  joy  execute  the  barba- 
rous commission.  What  a  spectacle !  The  sa- 
cred, the  tender,  the  precious  body  of  the  Re- 
deemer, is  galled  and  torn  by  their  merciless  strokes  ; 


SERMON  VII.  139 

his  blood  which  lately  bedewed  the  ground  of  Geth- 
semane,  now  flows  in  torrents  on  the  pavement  of 
Pilate's  hall;  "he  is  wounded  for  our  transgres- 
sions; he  is  bruised  for  our  iniquities  ;"  that  pun- 
ishment which  the  Roman  laws  forbade  to  be  ex- 
ercised, except  upon  the  vilest  slaves,  is  endured, 
not  merely  by  a  citizen,  not  merely  by  a  monarch, 
but  by  the  Eternal  Son  of  God. — But  surely, 
however  brutal  may  have  been  the  hearts  of  the  sol- 
diers, they  were  satisfied  with  this  exercise  of  bar- 
barity, they  could  carry  no  farther  their  bitter  cruel  - 
ty  :  Ah  no  !  it  was  not  enough  for  them  that  the 
body  of  the  Saviour  was  thus  lacerated,  they  endea- 
vour also  to  shake  the  serenity  of  his  mind.  They 
add  therefore  to  these  punishments  the  most  keen 
scoffs  and  mockings.  In  the  court  of  Caiaphas  the 
Saviour  had  been  derided  as  a  false  prophet,  whilst 
smiting  him  with  the  palms  of  their  hands  they 
cried  out,  "  Prophecy  unto  us,  thou  Christ,  who  is 
it  that  smote  thee  ?"  In  the  court  of  Pilate  he  is  de- 
rided as  an  ambitious  madman  grasping  at  an  empty 
sovereignty.  They  clothe  him  with  a  gorgeous  robe, 
they  insultingly  place  a  reed  in  his  hand  instead  of  a 
sceptre,  they  form  a  crown  of  thorns  which  they 
press  upon  his  temples  already  throbbing  with  an- 
guish; and  having  thus  equipped  him  with  the  en- 
signs of  mock  majesty,  they  jeeringly  bow  before 
him  and  contemptuously  exclaim,  Hail,  king  of  the 
Jews !  Angels  of  mercy,  why  did  yc  not  fly  to  his 


UO  SERMON  VII. 

succour !  Vengeance  of  my  God,  why  didst  thou 
slumber  ! 

When  the  Saviour  had  submitted  to  all  these 
griefs,  Pilate  again  brought  him  before  the  Jews, 
hoping  that  they  would  be  satisfied  with  the  pains 
already  inflicted  upon  him,  and  says  unto  them 
"  Behold  the  man  /"  See  what  I  have  caused  to  be 
done  to  him ;  behold  him  covered  with  reproaches, 
and  with  wounds — is  he  not  sufficiently  miserable  ? 
you  thirsted  for  his  blood — has  not  enough  of  it  been 
shed  to  satisfy  you  ? 

But  this  spectacle,  instead  of  satiating  only  en- 
kindled more  furiously  the  revenge  of  these  barba- 
rians, and  they  cry  out  with  more  violence,  "  Away 
with  him,  away  with  him  ;  crucify  him,  crucify  him.'* 
Then  Pilate,  the  timid  and  criminal  Pilate,  fearing 
any  longer  to  oppose  their  will,  yields  to  their  im- 
portunity, sacrifices  to  a  worldly  policy  one  whom 
he  had  uniformly  acknowledged  to  be  innocent,  pro- 
nounces the  sentence,  "  Let  him  be  crucified;'' 
and  delivers  him  into  the  hands  of  his  enemies  to  be 
led  to  execution. 

Rejoicing  at  this  permission  fully  to  glut  their 
fury  upon  him,  they  immediately  prepare  for  his 
crucifixion.  The  place  of  punishment  was  without 
the  city,  and  the  condemned  person  was  obliged  by 
the  Roman  law  to  carry  thither  the  instrument  of 


SERMON  VII.  141 

death.  Behold  then  the  Saviour  of  mankind  bearing 
his  cross  on  his  own  shoulders,  yet  smarting  from 
the  scourge.  Behold  the  true  Isaac  bearing  to  the 
sacred  mount,  the  wood  on  which  he  is  to  be  offered  as 
a  sacrifice  to  God — He  is  surrounded  by  the  priests, 
the  rulers  of  the  synagogue,  the  Pharisees,  who  pour 
forth  upon  him  their  invectives  and  curses.  He  who 
was  worshipped  by  angels,  who  was  adored  by  Mo- 
ses and  Elias  upon  Tabor ;  he,  the  Holy  of  holies,  is 
placed  between  two  robbers,  as  though  he  were  the 
leader  of  them.  In  this  manner  he  departs  from 
Jerusalem  ;  but  overcome  by  the  severities  that  had 
already  been  inflicted  upon  him,  his  strength  ex- 
hausted by  labour  and  want  of  rest,  he  sinks  under 
the  weight  of  his  cross.  But  though  he  thus  feels  the 
Innocent  infirmities  of  our  nature,  he  murmurs  not, 
he  repines  not ;  no  impatient  word  escapes  from  his 
lips ;  no  tears  for  his  sad  destiny  appear  in  those 
eyes  which  had  so  often  wept  at  the  miseries  of 
others.  "He  goes  as  a  lamb  to  the  slaughter,  and 
as  a  sheep  before  her  shearers  is  dumb,  so  he  open- 
eth  not  his  mouth. "  His  enemies,  seeing  that  his 
strength  was  almost  entirely  exhausted,  released  him 
from  the  burden  of  the  cross,  and  placed  it  on  the 
shoulders  of  one  Simon,  a  Cyrenian,  whom  they 
met  returning  from  the  fields.  This  conduct,  how- 
ever seemingly  humane,  was  only  the  result  of  im- 
patient rage  and  refined  malice.  Their  fury  was  so 
great  that  they  could  not  bear  delay,  and  they  were 
fearful  that  he  would  expire  before  they  arrived  at 


142  SERMON  VII. 

the  place  of  execution,  and  that  they  would  thus  lose 
the  horrid  pleasure  of  inflicting  upon  him  those  tor- 
tures which  they  had  prepared  for  him.  Daughters 
of  Jerusalem  !  well  might  ye  weep  at  such  compli- 
cated woe  !  He  had  scattered  his  blessings  on  your 
ungrateful  city  ;  he  had  restored  to  your  arms  your 
husbands,  your  children,  your  friends,  when  con_ 
suming  by  sickness,  or  seized  by  death  :  you  could 
not  in  return  rescue  him  from  that  death  to  which  he 
voluntarily  submitted ;  but  you  bestowed  on  him 
the  tribute  of  your  tears,  the  expression  of  your  re- 
grets. 

Jesus,  having  undergone  these  previous  suffer- 
ings, arrived  at  Calvary,  where  he  was  to  offer  him  - 
self  a  sacrifice  for  the  sins  of  the  world.  Before 
they  fastened  him  to  the  cross,  they  presented  to 
him  wine  mingled  with  myrrh.  This  was  always 
given  to  criminals  before  they  suffered,  in  order 
to  blunt  the  sense  of  pain  and  produce  stupefac- 
tion : — but,  says  the  evangelist,  Jesus  "  received 
it  not"  :  (Mark  xv.  23.)  He  was  unappalled  by 
the  horrors  of  crucifixion  ;  he  had  no  need  of  any 
other  supports  than  those  of  his  God  and  his  con- 
science ;  he  wished  to  preserve  his  reason  and 
feeling  that  he  might  suffer  the  extremity  of  pain, 
and  display  in  an  illustrious  manner,  all  those  vir- 
tues that  he  requires  of  his  disciples  in  a  season  of 
trial- 


SERMON  VII.  134 

Having  rejected  this  offered  lenitive,  that  he  might 
meet  death  clothed  in  all  his  terrors,  a  new  trial  suc- 
ceeds. The  merciless  executioners  despoil  him  of 
Ills  garments  ;  they  uncover  his  bleeding  wounds, 
and  expose  his  sacred  body  to  the  gaze  of  the  popu- 
lace. He  who  "  decketh  himself  with  light  as 
with  a  garment ;"  he  before  whom  but  a  few  davs 
since  the  people  strewed  their  garments,  that  he 
might  triumphantly  enter  into  Jerusalem,  now  goes 
from  this  same  Jerusalem,  to  be  despoiled  of  his 
raiment  before  the  inconstant  and  profane  multi- 
tude. "  His  garments  are  taken  from  him,  and  for 
his  vesture  they  cast  lots." 

The  cross  is  now  reared,  his  arms  are  stretched  out 
upon  it,  and  they  strike  the  nails  deep  into  those  hands 
that  had  been  employed  only  in  works  of  beneficence 
and  mercy — into  those  feet  which  bore  him  from  city 
to  city,  "  while  he  went  about  doing  good/'  and 
blessing  the  nations.  Whilst  they  are  thus  employ- 
ed, whilst  the  sense  of  his  ignominious  sufferings  is 
strongest,  behold !  he  raises  his  eyes  to  heaven,  he 
pours  out  his  petitions  to  his  Father.  And  for  what 
does  he  petition?  Does  he  not  ask  that  the  thunders 
of  God  should  be  sent  forth,  and  blast  his  murderers 
to  endless  perdition  ?  No,  my  brethren,  he  prays, 
he  pleads  for  his  murderers.  "  Father  forgive  them, 
for  they  know  not  what  they  do."  They  know  not 
who  it  is  that  they  thus  revile  and  torture  ;  forgive 
them,  Father  ;  my  arms  and  my  bosom  are  open  to 


114  SERMON  VII. 

receive  them.  Let  me  be  their  advocate  and  in- 
tercessor with  thee ;  let  that  blood  which  now  gushes 
warm  from  my  veins  shelter  them  from  the  strokes 
of  thine  offended  justice.  O  what  hearts  must  those 
have  been,  which  could  remain  obdurate  after  this 
tender  supplication  of  Jesus  !  But  the  hearts  of  the. 
soldiers  did  remain  obdurate ;  and  the  Maker  of  all 
things  is  suspended  between  heaven,  which  is  his 
throne,  and  earth  which  is  his  footstool,  as  though 
unworthy  to  occupy  a  place  upon  either. 

We  have  naturally  a  high  sense  of  shame,  and  in 
the  most  noble  and  generous  minds  this  sense  is  the 
strongest.  To  be  charged  with  the  most  heinous 
crimes  ;  to  be  viewed  with  abhorrence  and  execra- 
tion by  our  fellow-men ;  to  suffer  a  punishment  never 
inflicted  by  the  Roman  law  upon  a  freeman  however 
guilty,  but  reserved  for  the  vilest  slave ;  to  depart  from 
earth,  leaving  our  name  and  reputation  covered  with 
ignominy  and  dishonour  ;  who  can  conceive  the  tor- 
ments inflicted  by  such  circumstances.  Yet  all  this 
didst  thou  endure,  merciful  Saviour.  Thy  charity 
could  not  be  satisfied  by  bearing  all  the  misery  that 
could  befal  us,  unless  thou  underwentest  also  all  the 
ignominy  which  could  overwhelm  us. 

This  death  then  by  its  ignominy  was  naturally  cal- 
culated to  wound  the  mind  of  the  Redeemer ;  by 
its  painfulness  it  was  calculated  to  convulse  his  frame. 
His  whole  body  is  suspended  by  his  wounds,  and 


SERMON  VII.  147 

pleased  :"  dost  thou  too  forget  and  forsake  me,  and 
withhold  from  me  those  comforts  which  I  now  so 
much  need  to  sustain  me?  What,  even  me,  my  Fa- 
ther ?  How  many  of  thy  children  in  the  midst  of 
their  trials,  have  been  upheld  by  thy  presence  and 
consolations  ?  Hast  thou  relieved  them,  and  dost 
thou  forsake  me  ?  Me,  thine  only  begotten — thy 
dear,  thine  eternal  Son  ?  "  My  God,  my  God,  why 
hast  thou  forsaken  me." 

O  what  a  voice  was  this  to  proceed  from  the  Son 
of  God  !  Nature  trembled  at  these  complaints  of  its 
Creator;  the  sun  shrouded  itself  in  darkness,  and 
started  back  astonished  to  behold  the  Sun  of  right- 
eousness from  whom  it  received  its  light,  setting  in 
darkness  and  in  blood ;  the  earth  trembled  to  its 
centre  ;  death  heard  the  cry  in  his  inmost  caverns, 
and  dropped  the  chains  with  which  his  prisoners 
were  bound,  and  permitted  them  to  start  into  life. 
All  nature  sympathized  with  its  God ;  man  alone 
remained  unmoved  ;  man  scoffed,  while  angels 
wept ;  man's  heart  remained  unbroken,  while  the 
very  rocks  were  rent  asunder. 

Thus  Jesus  continues  suffering  till  the  predestin- 
ed work  for  which  he  assumed  our  nature  is  accom- 
plished. When  justice  is  satisfied,  when  every 
woe  is  undergone,  and  every  prophecy  accomplish- 
ed, he  calmly,  tranquilly,  and  freely  commends  his 
spirit  to  the  hands  of  his  Father  ;  cries  in  the  laiv 


148  SERMON  VII. 

guage  of  triumph,  and  with  a  joy  which  the  pains 
he  endured  could  not  destroy,  "It  is  finished;'* 
bows  his  head,  and  expires.  Thy  sufferings  are 
consummated,  merciful  Jesus,  and  with  them  our 
redemption  :  God  can  now  be  just  in  saving  the 
rebellious  ;  and  the  door  of  heaven  which  was  bar- 
red by  the  apostacy,  is  again  opened  for  the  chil- 
dren of  men. 

II.  And  now,  my  brethren,  what  effects  shall 
this  review  of  the  sufferings  of  our  Lord  produce 
upon  us  ?  Shall  we  be  satisfied  merely  with  exerci- 
sing the  emotions  of  natural  sympathy,  and  pouring 
forth  our  tears  over  our  crucified  Lord  ?  Oh  no  ! 
other  and  more  important  sentiments  should  occu- 
py our  hearts  ;  for  the  eternal  Son  of  God  submit- 
ted to  this  deep  humiliation  and  woe  for  far  nobler 
purposes  than  to  excite  a  weak  and  idle  pity.  Even 
at  the  moment  when  he  was  advancing  to  execution, 
he  exhorted  those  wh  o  grieved  for  him  to  reflect 
rather  upon  themselves  ;  and  now  that  he  is  in  the 
regions  of  glory  he  cries  to  us  in  much  louder  ac- 
cents, "  Weep  not  for  me,  but  weep  for  yourselves." 

1.  Plant  yourselves  then  at  the  foot  of  his  cross? 
and  let  your  sympathy  be  converted  into  a  holy  in- 
dignation against  those  sins  in  which  you  have  indul- 
ged. These  were  the  true  executioners  of  the  holy 
Jesus  :  these  rioted  in  his  agonies,  and  crushed  out 
his  life  :  these  kindled  those  flames  that  could  be 
extinguished  only  by  his  blood  ;    and  will  you  stil* 


w  0 

SERMON  VII.  149 

practise  and  love  these  iniquities  ?  Ah !  dare  you 
still  retain  them,  and  suffer  them  to  reign  in  your 
hearts  notwithstanding  the  awful  display  of  God's 
hatred  of  them  that  is  given  in  the  tremendous  sa- 
crifice of  Immanuel  ?  If  "  God  spared  not  his 
own  Son,"  will  he  spare  thee,  thoughtless  sinner, 
who  trinest  with  the  blood  of  the  cross,  and  chcrish- 
est  the  murderers  of  Jesus  ?  If  sin  be  not  mortified 
within  thee,  thou  must  in  thine  own  person  encoun- 
ter those  flames  which  consumed  this  precious  sa- 
crifice ;  upon  thine  own  head  must  descend  the 
thunders  which  here  burst  upon  the  Saviour.  Art 
thou  able  to  endure  them  ?  Ah !  far  better  had  it 
been  for  thee  never  to  have  been  born,  than  to  fix 
thy  view  upon  the  cross,  and  yet  remain  impenitent. 

But  why,  on  an  occasion  which  recals  to  us  the 
amazing  grace  of  God,  and  in  the  presence  of  that 
holy  table  where  charity  is  enthroned  and  pleads  with 
sinners,  do  I  present  considerations  to  appal  and 
terrify  ?  Let  me  rather  urge  you  by  tender  motives; 
let  me  hope  that  you  will  feel  the  constraints  of  love  : 
look  to  the  suffering  Jesus,  and  if  you  are  not  des- 
titute of  every  generous  feeling,  the  mercy  that  is 
here  displayed,  must  melt  your  heart,  and  cause  you 
to  renounce  and  hate  all  sin.  Say  to  yourself— 
<"  Can  my  sins  be  as  dear  to  me,  as  the  eternal  Son 
was  to  the  Father  ?  and  if  for  me  the  Father  gave 
his  Son  to  agonies  unutterable,  shall  I  esteem  it 
hard  at  his  command  to  abandon  the  ways  of  iniqui- 


150  SERMON  VII. 

ty  ?  When  the  Son  of  God  has  been  so  gracious  as 
to  lay  down  his  life  for  me,  shall  I  ungratefully  re- 
tain those  sins  which  he  hated  more  than  all  the 
shame  and  torture  which  he  endured  on  their  ac- 
count ?"  Surely,  my  brethren,  if  we  are  not  lost 
to  all  that  is  tender,  ingenuous  or  grateful,  reflections 
of  this  kind  must  touch  our  hearts,  and  cause  us  to 
exclaim  with  the  apostle,  "  The  love  of  Christ  con- 
straineth  us ;  because  we  thus  judge,  that  if  one 
died  for  all,  then  were  all  dead  ;  and  that  he  died 
for  all,  that  they  which  live  should  not  henceforth 
live  unto  themselves,  but  unto  him  who  died  for 
them  and  rose  again  :"  (2  Cor.  v.  14,15.)  "The 
grace  of  God  that  bringeth  salvation  hath  appeared 
to  all  men,  teaching  us,  that  denying  ungodliness 
and  worldly  lusts,  we  should  live  soberly,  righteous- 
ly and  godly  in  this  present  world ;  looking  for  that 
blessed  hope,  and  the  glorious  appearing  of  the  great 
God  and  our  Saviour  Jesus  Christ ;  who  gave  him- 
self for  us  that  he  might  redeem  us  from  all  iniquity, 
and  purify  unto  himself  a  peculiar  people  zealous 
of  good  works."     (Tit.  ii.  11 — 14.) 

2.  Mourning  penitents,  approach  to  the  cross  of 
Jesus,  that  you  may  obtain  the  pardon  of  your  offen- 
ces and  repose  to  your  agitated  consciences.  "  Be- 
hold the  Lamb  of  God,  which  taketh  away  the 
sin  of  the  world."  From  the  thunders  rolling 
against  you  from  Sinai,  seek  an  asylum  on  Calvary 
at  the  foot  of  your  expiring  Saviour's  cross.     To 


SERMON  VII.  151 

the  awful  denunciation  against  the  sinner,  "  Cur- 
sed is  every  one  who  continueth  not  in  all  things 
that  are  written  in  the  book  of  the  law  to  do  them," 
oppose  the  louder  accents  of  Jesus,  "  It  is  finish- 
ed:" the  law  must  be  observed,  its  curse  must 
be  executed  ;  but  this  curse  has  been  borne  by  me; 
justice  has  dyed  its  sword  in  my  blood  ;  and  your 
redemption  is  accomplished."  ^ay  with  a  holy 
confidence,  "  Is  it  true  that  my  sins  are  so  many 
and  aggravated,  that  no  created  power,  not  even  the 
angel  that  stands  next  the  throne  of  the  Lord,  no 
humble  and  continued  prayers,  no  floods  of  tears? 
no  years  of  penance,  can  remove  their  guilt  ?  But 
had  I  all  the  sins  which  are  on  earth  united  in  my 
person,  still  from  a  bleeding  Saviour  I  could  find 
mercy.  Since  "  it  is  a  faithful  saying  and  worthy 
of  all  acceptation,  that  Jesus  Christ  came  into  the 
world  to  save  sinners,  even  the  chief  of  sinners,"  I 
will  not  despair.  On  his  grace  I  will  cast  my  soul  '• 
on  his  cross  I  will  hang  my  sins  and  my  fears. 
"  Lord,  if  thou  wilt,  thou  canst  make  me  whole." 

3.  Children  of  affliction,  look  to  the  suffering  Jesus 
that  you  may  be  comforted  in  your  sorrows,  and  cheer- 
ed in  your  discouragements.  "  Consider  him  who 
endured  such  contradiction  of  sinners  against  him- 
self, lest  ye  be  wearied  and  faint  in  your  minds." 
To  the  infinite  mercy  which,  as  God,  your  Redeem- 
er possesses,  is  added  that  sympatlvy  which  arises 
from  a   participation  of  your  wass.     "  Since  then 


152  SERMON  VII. 

you  have  not  an  high- priest  who  cannot  be  touched 
with  a  feeling  of  your  infirmities,  but  one  who  was 
irj  all  points  tempted  as  you  are,  yet  without  sin,  go 
boldly  to  the  throne  of  grace,  that  you  may  obtain 
mercy  and  find  grace  to  help  in  time  of  need."  Are 
you  exposed  to  reproach  and  contempt,  to  the 
sneers  of  the  ungodly  and  the  scoffs  of  the  wicked  ? 
Look  to  Jesus  execrated,  derided,  and  cursed, 
"  scorned  and  rejected  of  men."  Are  you  afflicted 
with  inward  griefs,  with  sorrows  of  soul,  with  dark- 
nes  and  desertion  ?  Look  to  him,  who  "  in  the 
days  of  his  flesh,  offered  up  prayers  and  supplica- 
tions with  strong  crying  and  tears  unto  God;" 
who  exclaimed,  "  My  soul  is  exceeding  sorrowful 
even  unto  death  ;"  who  in  his  mysterious  derelic- 
tion upon  the  cross,  cried,  "  My  God  !  my  God ! 
why  hast  thou  forsaken  me"  ?  Does  the  world  at- 
tempt to  terrify  you  by  its  violence,  or  seduce  you 
by  its  allurements  ?  On  the  cross  you  see  Jesus 
undauntedly  braving  its  fury  and  trampling  on  its 
gilded  vanities.  From  the  habitation  of  his  holi- 
ness he  looks  down  upon  you  and  says,  "  Thus 
was  I  oppressed  and  tempted  ;  and  these  my  chil- 
dren suffer  for  my  sake  and  not  for  their  own."  Is 
your  reputation  slandered  by  the  ungodly  ?  Ah  I 
how  much  severer  were  the  reproaches  that  were 
cast  upon  the  holy  Jesus.  Are  you  in  a  lowly  situ- 
ation in  life  ?  Mark  the  deep  abasement  of  the 
Redeemer,  and  bless  God  for  those  enjoyments 
which  you  possess,  and  which  were  denied  to  him. 


SfcRMON  VII.  153 

Whatever  may  be  your  calamities,  go  to  the 
cross  ;  there  you  will  learn,  as  did  Paul,  to  rejoice 
in  your  sufferings.  There  you  will  learn,  as  did  the 
first  believers,  to  exult  even  in  tortures  and  upon 
racks,  to  defy  the  malice  and  the  power  of  earth  and 
hell. 

4.  Dying  men,  look  to  the  expiring  Saviour  for 
consolation  and  direction.  Precious  as  he  is  at  all 
times,  his  name  is  doubly  dear  on  the  threshold  of 
eternity.  Like  him  employ  the  time  that  may  yet 
be  granted  to  you  in  "  finishing  the  work  which 
your  Father  hath  given  you  to  do  ;"  like  him  employ 
your  last  moments  for  the  glory  of  God,  for  the 
consolation  and  instruction  of  those  around  you,  in 
prayers  for  your  enemies.  Then  in  your  closing 
hours,  you  may  say—"  Father;  by  this  endearing 
name  I  am  emboldened  to  address  thee,  through  the 
covenant  ratified  by  the  blood  of  thy  Son  :  Father 
of  my  Saviour,  into  thy  hands  I  commit  my  un- 
worthy  spirit :  through  Jesus  I  trust  thou  wilt  re- 
ceive it  as  thou  didst  his  holy  and  innocent  soul." 

Communicants,  when  you  commemorate  the 
death  of  Jesus,  think  then  of  your  own  which  is 
rapidly  approaching.  Since  we  know  not  whether 
some  of  us  will  not  be  in  the  eternal  world  before 
we  have  another  opportunity  of  celebrating  this  sa- 
cred festival,  let  us  while  we  hold  in  our  hands 
the  consecrated  svmbols,  commit  our  souls  to 
'       U 


154  SERMON  VII. 

God,  and  with  faith  and  fervour  supplicate  his  pro- 
tection, his  grace,  the  application  of  the  blood  of  his 
Son,  and  the  manifestation  of  his  love  in  the  last 
struggles  of  nature  ;  so  that  when  Jesus  shall  come 
as  our  judge,  and  cry  again  with  regard  to  time  it- 
self, "It  is  finished  ;"  we  may  rise  with  joy  from 
our  tombs,  and  advance  with  humble  confidence  to 
his  throne. 

It  would  be  delightful  to  expatiate  longer  on  this 
subject ;  it  will  not  be  exhausted  by  eternity  itself. 
But  we  must  pause ;  for  our  Beloved  calls  us  to 
come  and  put  a  new  seal  to  our  covenant  and  our 
hopes.  Yes,  we  will  come  to  begin  on  earth  the 
business  of  heaven,  to  unite  our  gratitude  with  the 
hallelujahs  of  the  redeemed,  and  to  celebrate  that 
Jesus,  who  lived  among  men  to  bless  them,  who 
died  to  redeem  them,  who  reigns  to  receive  and 
crown  them  after  their  departure  from  earth. 


SERMON  VIII. 

The  CHRISTIAN'S  VICTORY  over  the  WORLD. 

1.  John  v.  4. 
"  Whatsoever  is  born  of  God,  overcometh   the  World" 

WHILST  we  remain  below  in  a  state  of 
probation,  we  are  surrounded  by  numberless  and 
powerful  spiritual  enemies.  The  adversary  of 
souls  attempts  to  delude  us  ;  our  corrupt  inclina- 
tions estrange  us  from  God  ;  and  the  world  spreads 
before  us  a  thousand  snares  and  temptations.  These 
enemies  we  are  unable  to  vanquish  whilst  we  con- 
tinue in  our  natural  state  ;  but  when  we  are  "  born 
of  God  ;"  i.  e.  when  a  new  and  divine  principle  is 
implanted  within  us,  when  we  are  regenerated  by 
the  Holy  Ghost,  we  can  then  triumph  over  them. 
My  text  confines  me  to  an  examination  of  the  be- 
liever's conquest  over  one  of  these  enemies,  the 
world;  and  in  illustrating  it,  we  will 

I.  Consider  the  manner  in  which  the  world  as- 
sails the  christain  ;  and 

'    II.  The  mode  in  which  lie  repels  these  assaults. 


156  SERMON  VIII. 

I.  The  world  assails  the  christian  by  its  evil  ex- 
ample, by  its  false  maxims,  by  its  pleasures  and  ca- 
resses, and  by  its  persecutions  and  frowns. 

1.  The  effect  which  the  world  often  produces  on 
the  christian  by  its  evil  example,  is  most  lamentable. 

Our  manners  and  our  habits  are  almost  entirely 
formed  by  imitation;  example  always  addresses  us  in 
a  more  forcible  and  persuasive  manner  than  naked 
precept ;  when  models  are  continually  before  our 
eyes  we  can  scarcely  avoid  copying  them.  How 
difficult  then  must  it  be  for  the  believer  to  preserve 
in  the  midst  of  the  world  the  holiness  and  purity  of 
the  christian  character  !  He  looks  around  him,  he 
beholds  the  multitude  uniting  to  give  a  fashionable 
air  to  vice  and  folly,  and  the  few  who  have  seriously 
awaked  to  a  sense  of  the  value  of  their  souls,  and 
who  strive  to  conform  their  lives  to  the  precepts  of 
the  gospel,  and  the  example  of  their  Saviour,  sneered 
at  for  their  preciseness  and  scrupulosity  ;  is  there 
not  danger  that  he  may  insensibly  be  drawn  in  the 
current  and  carried  away  by  the  stream  ?  Is  there 
not  danger  lest  a  dread  of  shame,  a  fear  of  singulari- 
ty, a  desire  to  please  those  with  whom  he  associates, 
an  apprehension  of  "the  world's  dread  laugh,"  should 
induce  him  to  allow  many  things  in  himself  and 
others,  inconsistent  with  the  strict  requirements  of 
religion  ? 


SERMON  VIII.  157 

He  still  has  in  his  heart  passions  ready  to  be  in- 
flamed ;  can  he  with  safety  be  constantly  conver- 
sant with  those  objects  calculated  to  enkindle  them? 
When  he  sees  thousands  walking  in  the  path  of 
sin  and  folly,  and  among  them  many  who  though  un. 
regenerate  are  possessed  of  the  most  brilliant  and  at- 
tractive qualities  ;  many  who  though  they  are  des- 
titute of  true  religion,  have  those  amiable  disposi- 
tions and  moral  virtues  which  secure  his  love  ;  many 
to  whom  he  is  united  by  the  sacred  and  powerful 
ties  of  nature  although  they  are  strangers  to  piety ; 
when  he  sees  this  crowd  preceding  him,  will  not 
his  apprehensions  of  treading  in  the  path  which 
they  pursue  be  diminished  ? 

The  history  of  millions,  perhaps  the  history  of 
our  own  lives,  proves  that  such  fatal  effects  may  be 
produced  by  the  example  of  the  world.  The  sons 
of  God  saw  the  daughters  of  men  and  were  pollu- 
ted ;  the  people  of  Israel  saw  the  Midianitish  wo- 
men, and  were  ensnared.  Oh  !  how  many  have  I 
known  who  when  they  first  began  to  mingle  with  the 
world  trembled  at  a  thousand  excesses  which  they 
beheld,  and  who  would  have  repulsed  with  indigna- 
tion the  suggestion  that  they  could  ever  participate 
in  them.  But  after  frequently  hearing  the  senti- 
ments and  becoming  accustomed  to  the  conduct  of 
the  wicked,  the  delicacy  of  their  conscience  was 
lost,  the  scruples  which  they  first  felt  vanished  ;  a 
deadness  of  spirit  and  a  decay  of  grace  was  insen- 


158  SERMON  VIII. 

sibly  produced,  and  fearing  lest    they  should  be 
esteemed  misanthropes  and  haters  of  joy,  they  have 
adopted  those  habits  and  practices  of  their  seducers, 
from  which  they  once  revolted  with  holy  indigna- 
tion.    If  conscience  sometimes  woke  from  the   le- 
thargy in  which  they  had  cast  it  and  uttered  its  re- 
proaches, they  looked  around  and  silenced  its  voice 
by  the  consideration,  that  they  acted  as  the  world 
did,  and  conformed  to  the  custom  of  the  age.     In 
vain  did  the  word  of  God  call  to  them  not  to  be 
"  conformed  to  the  world,  but  to  be  transformed  by 
the   renewing  of  their  minds  ;"  in  vain  did  it  tell 
them  that  "  the  world  lieth  in  wickedness  ;"  and 
that  the  broad  path   of  the  multitude  leads  down 
to  the  chambers  of  eternal  despair — unalarmed  by 
these  calls  they  coolly  prosecuted  their  course  ;  the 
very  circumstance  which  ought  to  have  terrified 
them,  I  mean  the  countless  numbers  who  lived  as 
they  did,  calmed  their  apprehensions ;  they  were 
surprised  by  death  in  the  exercise  of  no  christian 
graces,  and  borne  to  that  holy  tribunal  where  the 
world  which  they   had  idolized  would  avail  them 
nothing. 

So  dangerous,  so  fatal,  is  the  example  of  the 
world.  Exercise  a  holy  vigilance  against  it,  and  be 
assured  that  it  requires  no  small  degree  of  grace  ef- 
fectually to  resist  it.  There  are  but  few  Noahs 
who  can  be  entirely  surrounded  with  sinners  with- 
out impairing  the  firmness  and  purity  of  their  faith  : 


SERMON  VIII.  159 

there  are  but  few  Lots  who  can  preserve  the  vigour 
of  their  piety  in  a  city  deluged  with  iniquity  : 
there  are  but  few  Daniels  who,  alone  in  a  mighty 
empire,  can  be  kept  from  the  pollution  of  irreligion. 
Be  therefore  guarded,  believers  ;  exercise  a  sacred 
jealousy  over  your  hearts. 

2.  The  world  assails  the  christian  in  another 
manner.  By  its  false  principles  and  loose  maxims, 
it  endeavours  to  shake  his  faith  and  corrupt  his 
religion. 

The  men  of  the  world  are  solicitous  to  justify 
the  conduct  they  pursue  and  to  defend  the  cause 
they  have  espoused ;  and  they  therefore  employ 
their  arts  and  solicitations  to  wreaken  a  regard  to  se- 
rious godliness.  When  the  christian  studies  his 
religion  in  the  secret  of  his  closet  and  the  silence 
of  the  passions,  he  perceives  that  the  "  command- 
ments of  God  are  exceeding  broad  ;"  that  in  his 
life  and  conduct  there  are  many  things  which  need 
correction  ;  that  it  is  necessary  for  him  not  merely 
faintly  to  wish  and  coldly  to  desire,  but  to  agonize 
to  enter  into  heaven.  But  when  he  mingles  with 
the  world,  he  hears  sentiments  more  relaxed  and 
favourable  to  corruption  constantly  advanced,  and 
frequently  maintained  with  all  the  arts  of  insinuation 
and  all  the  graces  of  manner.  He  hears  incessantly 
perversions  of  the  scripture,  and  is  warned  in  the 
tone  of  affection  but  with  a  treacherous  design,  of 


160  SERMON  VIII. 

the  danger  of  being  righteous  over-much  ;  he  hears 
allowances  made  for  human  depravity  which  the 
holy  volume  does  not  authorise,  and  the  qualifica- 
tions for  future  glory  reduced  to  a  far  lower  stand- 
ard than  it  sanctions  ;  he  hears  honourable  names 
given  to  sin,  and  finds  piety  confounded  with  su- 
perstition and  enthusiasm.  When  he  frequently 
listens  to  these  and  similar  opinions  that  prevail  in 
the  world  ;  when  he  beholds  them  adorned  with  all 
the  colourings  of  seduction ;  when  those  who  have 
the  art  of  "  making  the  worse  appear  the  better 
reason,"  continually  attempt  to  lead  him  into  error, 
to  put  ornaments  upon  vice  and  to  varnish  falsehood, 
is  there  not  danger  that  he  may  lose  the  correctness 
of  his  principles  and  the  warmth  of  his  piety.  How 
difficult  for  any  one  to  return  uninjured  from  such 
impure  conversation.  How  dangerous  is  such  in- 
tercourse to  young  and  unwary  minds,  which  are 
often  deeply  penetrated  with  the  poison  before  they 
suspect  the  danger  of  its  being  administered.  How 
much  fortitude  and  resolution,  how  much  spiritual 
wisdom  and  discernment,  does  it  require,  to  resisi 
the  importunities  and  solicitations  of  the  world,  and 
to  unravel  the  subtlety  of  those  who  "lie  in  wait  to 
deceive." 

Testify  to  the  force  of  this  assault,  all  those  of 
you  who  were  in  some  degree  awakened  to  a  sense 
of  your  misery,  but  who  returning  into  the  world 
were  lured  back  into  sin   by  the  sophistry  of  the 


SERMON  VIII.  161 

ungodly.  Testify  to  its  force,  all  those  of  you 
who  once  lived  in  close  communion  with  God,  but 
who  have  embraced  sentiments  that  have  chilled 
your  devotion  and  frozen  your  zeal.  Testify  to 
its  force,  ye  countless  thousands  of  miserable  be- 
ings, who  were  seduced  to  the  adoption  of  fatal  er- 
rors with  regard  to  duty  and  conduct,  and  who  have 
been  led  by  them  to  the  regions  of  despair. 

3.  The  world  proves  an  enemy  to  the  believer, 
by  its  promises  and  caresses.  It  displays  before  us 
the  forbidden  fruit  of  its  pleasures,  its  riches,  its 
honours.  It  presents  them  to  us  by  the  kind  of 
some  Eve,  flattering  and  agreeable  to  the  senses :  it 
says  to  us  with  the  most  ensnaring  accents,  "  All 
these  things  will  I  give  thee,  if  thou  wilt  fall  down 
and  worship  me."  How  hard  is  it  on  such  occasions 
to  keep  our  eyes  steadily  fixed  on  the  glories  of 
heaven,  and  to  answer  the  seducing  world  in  the  in- 
dignant language  of  Peter,  u  Thine  enjoyments 
perish  with  thee  !"  Instead  of  resisting  the  wea- 
pons which  are  used,  we  are  pleased  to  be  wounded 
by  them ;  we  rush  with  a  willing  eagerness  upon 
their  point.  Instead  of  dashing  to  the  ground  the 
cup  of  poisonous  sweets  which  it  offers,  we  greedily 
seize  upon  it  and  drink  our  death.  Oh  !  how  ma- 
ny have  the  allurements  of  the  world  undone  !  How 
many,  like  Demas,  captivated  with  its  glittering 
charms,  have  forsaken  their  Saviour,  and  lost  their 

heaven  !      How   many  christians  between   whose 

Y 


162  SERMON  VIII. 

hearts  and  God  it  has  interposed,  eclipsing  the  light 
of  his  countenance,  and  the  beamings  of  his  grace  ! 

There  are  many  considerations,  which  prove  the 
tempting  and  pernicious  influence  of  worldly  enjoy- 
ments. They  are  suited  to  our  natural  appetites, 
which  they  first  excite  and  gratify,  and  then  inflame 
and  render  inordinate  and  excessive.  A  certain  mea- 
sure of  them  is  lawful ;  but  how  difficult  is  it  to 
mark  the  boundary  line  distinctly,  and  keep  them  in 
a  just  subserviency  and  stibdrdination  to  the  great 
end  we  have  in  view.  Nay,  a  certain  measure  of 
them  is  necessary — "  Our  heavenly  Father  knoweth 
that  we  have  need  of  these  things;"  and  he  hath 
therefore  made  it  our  duty  by  conscientious  labour 
and  lawful  industry,  to  seek  for  them  ;  and  yet  we 
are  forbidden  to  suffer  the  world  to  have  dominion 
over  our  hearts :  and  how  hard  is  it  to  labour  for 
it,  to  pursue  it,  to  see  its  charms  spread  out  before 
us,  and  apparently  within  our  reach,  and  yet  not 
inordinately  to  love  it. 

But  nothing  perhaps  can  so  strongly  prove  the 
dangerous  influence  of  worldly  enjoyments,  as  the 
conduct  of  Divine  Providence  towards  the  children 
of  God.  We  sometimes  see,  it  is  true,  those  who 
are  surrounded  with  earthly  enjoyments  devoted  to 
God.  But  such  instances  are  comparatively  rare. 
In  general,  we  find  that  worldly  prosperity  intoxicates 
the  mind,  and  that  few  are  able  to  bear  it  with  so- 


SERMON  VIII.  163  | 

briety  and  moderation  ;  and  if  the  real  christian  is 
surrounded  by  earthly  blessings,  a  variety  of  cor- 
rective strokes  of  a  different  kind,  is  found  necessary 
to  counterwork  their  influence. 

4.  The  world  assaults  the  believer  by  its  perse- 
cution and  rage,  by  its  injuries  and  scoff's. 

In  the  first  ages  of  Christianity,  the  path  to  heaven 
was  a  path  of  blood,  and  believers  were  called  to 
bear  their  testimony  to  religion  on  the  rack  and  in 
the  flames.     Through  the  mercy  of  God,  we  need 
not  now  fear  such  sufferings;  yet  still  the  christian 
is  often  loaded  with  the  scoffs  and  sneers  of  the  un- 
godly.    True  vital  religion,  not  being  generally  em- 
braced, cannot  expect  to  meet  with  general  approba- 
tion.    Indeed  there  is  something  in  the  genuine 
christian  so  opposite  to  the  spirit  and  maxims  of 
the  world,  that  it  is  not  surprising  he  should  be  of- 
ten treated  with  derision.     Besides,  believers  are 
often  obliged  by  the  irresistible  call  of  duty  openly 
to  declare  their  opposition  and  abhorrence  of  things 
sanctioned  by  the  world  ;  and  if  by  such  conduct 
they  do  not  reform,  they  inflame,  they  irritate,  and 
excite  the  enmity  of  the  ungodly.     And  even  if  he 
attempts  nothing  directly,  yet  the  life  of  every  strict 
and  conscientious  christian  is  a  constant  reproach 
upon  the  careless  or  more  dissolute  lives   of  those 
with  whom  he  is  surrounded.     It,  as  it  were,  flashes 
light  upon  the  dark  and  sleepy  conscience  ;  it  dis- 
turbs the  tranquillity  of  the  impenitent ;  and   if  it 


164  SERMON  VIII. 

does  not  reform  them,  it  causes  them  to  regard  the 
believer  as  a  troubler  of  their  joy,  and  to  view  him 
with  resentment  or  contempt,  or  with  a  mixture  of 
both.  How  hard  is  it  to  bear  such  treatment  with 
patience  and  resignation  ?  How  many  whose  good 
resolutions  have  been  shaken  by  the  mockeries  and 
insults  with  which  libertines  have  treated  the  pious  ; 
by  the  malignant  and  diabolical  pleasure  with  which 
they  have  seized  upon  the  smallest  failings  of  the  be- 
liever, and  held  them  up  with  bitter  scorn  and  wicked 
exaggerations  to  the  public  gaze?  How  many  who, 
afraid  of  the  railleries  and  scoffs  which  attend  an  in- 
flexible adherence  to  duty,  have  abandoned  that 
iirm  and  independent  deportment  which  becomes 
the  christian — have  striven  in  almost  every  point  to 
accommodate  their  conduct  to  that  of  the  world  j 
and  have  endeavoured  by  means  which  wounded 
their  conscience  and  marred  their  peace,  to  diminish 
the  contrast  which  ought  ever  to  subsist  between 
the  lives  of  the  pious  and  of  the  impenitent. 

Such  are  the  chief  modes  in  which  the  world  as- 
sails the  believer ;  and  who  of  us  can  reflect  upon 
them  without  being  filled  with  a  holy  fear  and  ap- 
prehension, with  a  trembling  sense  of  his  danger^ 
and  with  a  deep  persuasion  of  his  need  of  divine 
aid,  to  overcome  an  enemy  who  attacks  us  in  a 
manner  so  powerful  and  so  various  ?  But  be  not 
discouraged,  believers  ;  the  world  has  been  con- 
$uered  by  your  Saviour,  and  through  his  grace  you 


SERMON  VIII.  165 

maij  also  triumph  over  it.     This   we  are  to  prove 
to  you  in  the 

lid.  Division  of  our  discourse. 

When  the  apostle  says  that  those  who  are  born 
ef  God  overcome   the   world,  he  does  not  mean  to 
assert  that  they  are  never  sensible   of  its  assaults 
and  never  injured  by  them.     God,  no  doubt  for 
reasons  infinitely  wise,  though  perhaps  inscrutable 
by  us,  has  thought   proper  to  leave  believers  but 
partially  sanctified  whilst  they  are  in  this  world,  and 
to  suffer  the  remains  of  depravity  to  dwell  within 
them.     In  consequence  of  this  state  of  imperfection, 
the  world  may  sometimes  obtain  a  momentary  tri- 
umph, through  the  weakness,  the  errors,  or  the  un- 
guardedness  of  christians ;  but  these  defeats  are  only 
temporary  ;  in  the  habitual  temper  of  their  souls  and 
conduct  of  their  lives,  the  children  of  God  have  a 
mastery  over  the  world.     They  cannot  remain  un. 
der  the  dominion  of  their  adversary  ;  they  quickly 
rise  from   their  defeats  more  watchful  and  more 
guarded  ;  they  resume  their  combat  in  the  strength 
of  the  Lord,  and  persevere  in  it  to  the  end  of  their 
Uves. 

When  the  apostle  says,  that  "  he  who  is  born  of 
(•rod  overcomes  the  world,"  he  does  not  mean  to 
assert  that  all  christians  have  obtained  equal  advan- 
tages over  this  enemy.  In  some,  the  christian  graces 


166  SEKMON   VIII. 

are  more  weak  and  feeble ;  they  have  not  often  used 
their  spiritual  armour,  nor  acquired  strength  from  a 
long  and  successful  contest.  Their  course  is  there- 
fore less  brilliant ;  they  have  to  mourn  over  many 
humbling  defeats  ;  and  their  lives,  too  unsteady 
and  wavering,  afford  little  comfort  to  themselves  and 
little  benefit  to  others.  Others,  more  firm,  more 
animated,  and  more  prudent,  hold  on  a  steady 
course  ;  each  day  gain  some  new  victory  over  their 
foe  ;  and  give  a  brilliant  example  to  the  world. 
But  though  there  are  such  different  degrees  of  vic- 
tory, they  all  of  them  are  superior  to  the  world. 

The  weapons  which  they  use  are  correspondent 
to  the  assaults  that  are  made  upon  them.  When 
they  are  assailed  by  the  example  of  the  world,  they 
oppose  to  it  more  dignified,  more  illustrious,  more 
holy  models  of  conduct.  They  ascend  by  their 
thoughts  even  to  heaven  ;  they  behold  there  the 
all-perfect  God,  and  they  resolve  to  imitate  him  as 
far  as  a  creature  can  imitate  its  Creator.  They  me- 
ditate on  the  spotless  character  of  Jesus  ;  they  re- 
solve to  follow  his  footsteps  and  conform  them- 
selves to  him  as  far  as  human  weakness,  strengthen- 
ed by  power  from  on  high,  will  enable  them.  They 
contemplate  the  innumerable  society  of  angels,  the 
first-born,  the  most  glorious  part  of  creation  ;  they 
trace  the  long  succession  of  patriarchs,  of  prophets, 
of  apostles,  and  martyrs;  they  remember  their  pi- 
ous friends  who  once  fought  under  the  banners  of 


SERMON  VIII.  167 

Jesus,  and  who  dying  in  his  love,  now  rest  from 
their  labours  ;  these  they  choose  as  their  patterns 
and  select  as  their  guides  :  When  the  world  accu- 
ses believers  of  singularity  in  their  sentiments  and 
conduct,  they  point  to  these  illustrious  models  ; 
they  cry  with  a  holy  triumph — "  No  ;  we  are  not 
singular  :  our  faith  and  our  practice  is  approved  by 
God,  the  Redeemer,  and  the  holy  angels  ;  the  path 
in  which  we  tread  is  that  which  has  been  traversed 
by  all  the  redeemed,  and  which  will  be  pursued  by 
all  who  shall  succeed  us  to  the  consummation  of  all 
things.  These  we  have  chosen  as  our  eternal 
companions ;  these  we  take  as  our  models  ;  and 
we  equally  pity  and  wonder  at  the  folly  of  those  who 
would  prefer  the  example  of  the  impenitent  and  the 
unholy  ;  of  the  slaves  of  Satan  and  the  heirs  of 
perdition." 

When  the  world  assails  the  believer  by  its  false 
sentiments  and  relaxed  maxims,  he  opposes  to  it  the 
law  and  the  testimony  of  God.  He  feels  that  it  is  in- 
finitely more  safe  and  happy  to  follow  the  precepts 
and  directions  of  him  who  cannot  err,  than  to  listen 
to  the  pleadings  of  the  passions  or  the  sophisms  of 
iniquity.  He  acknowledges  but  one  law-giver, 
that  is  God  ;  he  knows  that  whatever  is  imposed 
by  this  law-giver  is  just  and  right,  and  that  at  his 
bar  our  eternal  destinies  will  be  decided.  He  there- 
fore cries  to  the  scoffing  worldling — "  Your  silly  jests 
and  impious  sneers  may  now  harden  you  in  guilt 


168  SERMON  VIII. 

and  drown  the  reproaches  of  your  conscience  ;  but 
they  will  not  support  you  on  the  bed  of  death, 
they  will  die  upon  your  trembling  lips  when  you 
stand  at  the  bar  of  your  God.  For  my  part  I  take 
the  holy  volume  as  my  rule,  as  a  lamp  to  my  feet 
during  my  life,  as  a  supporter  in  the  hour  of  disso- 
lution, as  the  standard  to  which  I  must  conform  my 
life,  since  by  it  my  future  doom  must  be  fixed. 
Prove  from  it  that  a  worldly,  careless,  thoughtless 
life,  is  safe  or  happy  ;  and  I  will  then  acknowledge 
the  justice  of  your  maxims  and  the  wisdom  of  your 
conduct." 

When  the  world  assails  the  christian  by  its  plea~ 
sures,  he  opposes  to  these  pleasures  those  that  re- 
sult from  communion  with  God,  and  those  that  are 
reserved  for  the  pious  beyond  the  grave.  He  feels 
that  the  pleasures  of  religion  are  the  only  ones  that 
can  fill  the  capacities  of  his  soul,  and  that  are  coeval 
with  its  existence — the  only  ones  that  accord  with 
the  sublimity  of  his  hopes  and  the  grandeur  of  his 
destination.  Whilst  he  contemplates  those  enjoy- 
ments of  which  the  glorified  partake,  the  joys  of 
earth  shrivel  into  insignificance,  and  he  is  astonished 
at  the  stupidity  of  those,  who  for  the  meagre  and  un- 
satisfactory pleasures  of  earth,  barter  away  a  felicity 
infinite  in  degree,  and  eternal  in  duration. 

When  the  world  assails  him  by  its  persecution 
and  fury,  he  is  supported  by  a  consciousness  of  thf 


SERMON  VIII.  167 

approbation  of  God,  and  by  the  silent  applause  of 
his  heart.  He  knows  that  God  beholds  him,  and 
for  wise  and  benevolent  reasons  permits  that  he 
should  undergo  these  sufferings ;  he  knows  that 
this  tender  Father  stands  by  him,  sees  him  contend- 
ing with  sorrows  for  his  sake,  and  "  will  not  suffer  him 
to  be  tempted  above  what  he  is  able  to  bear,"  but 
will  "  make  all  things  work  together  for  his  good." 
He  remembers  that  he  treads  in  the  path  in  which 
Jesus  went  before  him,  and  he  hears  the  consola- 
tory voice  of  this  gracious  master  saying  unto  him, 
'  In  the  world  ye  shall  have  tribulation  :  but  be  of 
good  cheer — I  have  overcome  the  world."  He 
remembers  that  the  crown  of  glory  is  just  before 
him,  and  anticipates  the  time  when,  like  Moses  from 
the  top  of  Nebo,  he  shall  look  back  upon  all  the 
dangers  and  sorrows  of  the  wilderness ;  and  from 
this  retrospect  enjoy  with  greater  delight  the  un- 
clouded and  undisturbed  felicity  of  heaven.  Sup- 
ported by  these  hopes  and  animated  by  these  con- 
siderations, he  repulses  this  last  assault  of  the  world, 
and  overcomes  this  foe. 

In  concluding  this  discourse,  let  us 

1.  Seriously  examine  whether  we  have  obtained 
this  victory.  Without  it  we  in  vain  hope  for  heaven  ; 
for  "  if  any  man"  supremely  "  love  the  world,  the 
love  of  the  Father  is  not  in  him."  If  there  is  any 
earthly  object  that  we  are  not  ready  to  lay  down  as  a 
sacri6ce,  and  to  reject  as  a  snare,  when  it  comes  in 

Z 


163  SERMON  VIII. 

competition  with  our  duty  to  God,  he  does  not  pos- 
sess  the  first  place  in  our  hearts.  Solemnly  then  en- 
quire whether  you  have  obtained  the  mastery  over  this 
foe,  or  whether  you  are  bound  by  its  chains.  And 
in  order  to  decide  this  question,  see  whether  you 
have  a  living,  practical,  efficacious  faith  ;  for  you 
are  assured  by  the  apostle,  in  the  words  immediate- 
ly succeeding  the  text,  that  "  this  is  the  victory 
which  overcometh  the  world,  even  our  faith."  If 
then  you  are  actuated  only  by  natural  principles,  if 
the  Holy  Spirit  has  not  implanted  in  your  souls 
that  faith  which  purifies  the  heart,  which  shews  us 
the  infinite  importance  of  everlasting  things,  and 
endues  us  with  supernatural  power  ;  however  pain- 
ful may  be  your  exertions,  however  severe  your 
struggles  against  the  world,  you  are  yet  its  slaves, 
and  shall  perish  with  it. 

2.  How  small  is  the  number  of  the  children  of 
God.  Look  around  you :  how  many  do  you  ob- 
serve who,  instead  of  regarding  this  world  as  an  en- 
emy, view  it  only  as  a  friend,  and  consider  them- 
selves happy  merely  in  proportion  as  they  acquire 
its  enjoyments :  how  many,  the  sole  object  of  whose 
life  is  to  procure  the  blessings  of  earth,  and  who 
unrestrained  by  the  fear  or  love  of  God,  are  ready 
to  commit  any  crime  to  attain  the  object  of  their 
wishes:  how  many,  who  though  impressed  in 
some  degree  with  the  truths  of  religion,  yet  fluctu- 
ate perpetually  between  God  and  the   world,  and 


SERMON  VIII.  169 

refuse  to  give  him  the  undivided  throne  in  their 
hearts.  All  these,  we  are  assured  by  the  unerring 
oracles  of  truth,  shall  never  enter  into  the  kingdom 
of  heaven  :  and  do  not  these  compose  the  greater 
part  of  our  race  ?  Unhappy  men  !  who  for  fugitive 
and  unsubstantial  pleasures,  which  cannot  perfectly 
satisfy  them  even  here,  which  cannot  diminish  their 
pains  and  apprehensions  on  the  bed  of  death,  which 
make  no  provision  for  that  eternity  which  is  before 
them,  which  cannot  interpose  between  them  and 
everlasting  perdition  when  they  close  their  eyes  up- 
on the  earth — Unhappy  men  !  who  for  such  trifles 
renounce  those  pure  and  holy  delights,  which  re- 
morse never  embitters,  which  death  cannot  impair, 
which  will  grow  and  expand  throughout  eternity. 
Stop  for  a  moment  in  your  career  to  ruin  ;  seri- 
ously contrast  all  the  blessings  which  the  world  can 
give  its  votaries,  with  those  treasures  of  grace, 
those  merits  of  Jesus,  those  influences  of  the  Spirit, 
those  splendours  of  glory,  with  which  God  crowns 
those  who  choose  him  as  their  portion.  Between 
these  make  a  deliberate  election ;  and  in  deciding 
remember  that  you  will  have  a  whole  eternity  of 
joy,  or  a  whole  eternity  of  misery  ;  in  which  you 
will  have  to  felicitate  yourselves  for  the  wisdom,  or 
curse  yourselves  for  the  folly  of  your  choice. 

3.  Let  this  subject  induce  you,  believers,  to  live 
near  to  God.  You  have  been  told  that  you  stand 
not  by  your  own  power,  but  by  that  "  faith  which  b 


170  SERMON  VIII. 

the  gift  of  God."  Pray  then  continually,  that  this 
grace  may  be  strengthened  in  you  :— Look  to  your 
interceding  Saviour,  and  implore  him  to  plead  for 
you,  as  he  did  for  Peter,  "  that  your  faith  fail  not." 

You  have  been  told  of  the  numbers  whose  con- 
duct once  excited  the  hopes  of  the  pious,  but  whom 
the  world  overcame— Their  histories  are  beacons  to 
warn  and  direct  you  :  Beware,  lest  the  succeeding 
generation  should  have  reason  to  unite  your  name 
with  theirs,  and  point  to  you  also  as  a  sad  monu- 
ment of  the  power  of  the  world. 


SERMON  IX. 


MINISTRY  OF  ANGELS. 

Heb.  i.  14. 

41  Are  they  not  all  ministering  spirits,  sent  forth  to  min- 
ister for  them  that  shall  be  heirs  of  salvation .?" 

MAN  stands  at  the  head  of  the  visible  crea- 
tion, and  serves  to  connect  two  widely  different  or- 
ders of  being.  Compounded  of  body  and  soul,  by 
his  body  he  bears  an  affinity  to  the  beasts  that  are 
not  endued  with  an  immortal  spirit,  and  by  his  soul 
to  those  superior  intelligences,  who  are  not  united  to 
matter,  nor  encumbered  with  body. 

That  such  intelligences  exist,  reason,  or  the  re- 
mains of  a  primitive  revelation,  taught  every  people 
that  has  ever  lived.  Differing  in  almost  every  other 
subject  of  belief,  nations  of  every  climate  and  age, 
and  religion,  have  nevertheless  concurred  in  acknow- 
ledging that  between  us  and  God,  there  are  innumer- 
able orders  of  spirits,  far  excelling  us  in  every  na- 
tural and  moral  quality.  The  universality  of  this 
belief,  is  a  strong  presumption  of  its  truth,  and  of 
its  consistence  with  reason. 


172  SERMON  IX. 

Indeed,  it  would  appear  almost  impossible  for  any 
person  who  jhad  with  any  attention  examined  the 
works  of  God,  and  observed  the  various  gradations 
of  being,  to  doubt  of  the  existence  of  angels.  Wc 
ascend,  step  by  step,  from  dull,  inert,  unorganized 
matter,  to  the  living  plant,  the  perceptive  brute,  and 
the  reasonable  man.  And  having  risen  to  an  imma- 
terial substance,  endued  with  such  powers  and  fa- 
culties as  the  human  soul,  shall  we  suppose  that  the 
great  scale  and  gradation  of  being  ends  there  ?  Will 
we  not  feel  ourselves  compelled  to  believe  that  be- 
tween us  and  Deity,  numberless  creatures  intervene, 
possessed  of  perfection,  power  and  excellency,  be- 
yond our  present  conception  ? 

But  we  are  not  left  on  this  subject  to  the  dim 
lights  of  unassisted  reason.  The  holy  scriptures  are 
full  of  proofs,  not  merely  of  the  existence  of  angels, 
but  also  of  their  care  and  watchfulness  over  the  pi- 
ous, of  their  fellowship  and  communion  with  the 
saints.  Nothing  can  be  more  explicit  on  this  point 
than  the  words  of  our  text,  in  which  St.  Paul,  speak- 
ing of  the  blessed  angels,  says,  "  Are  they  not  all 
ministering  spirits,  sent  forth  to  minister  for  them 
that  shall  be  heirs  of  salvation  ?"  Though  the  apos- 
tle here  uses  the  interrogatory  form,  he  does  not  by 
it  intimate  any  doubt  of  the  truth  of  the  question 
which  he  asks,  but  only  designs  by  this  mode  of 
speaking  more  strongly  to  affirm  it,  more  pointedly 


SERMON  IX.  173 

to  appeal  to  the  general  belief  of  the  Hebrews  and 
their  own  knowledge  of  the  scriptures. 

This  subject,  my  brethren,  though  so  much  neg- 
lected, is  worthy  of  our  serious  attention.  Since 
God  has  revealed  to  us  that  by  his  orders  the  heav- 
enly host  defend,  instruct  and  support  his  children, 
we  must  surely  be  ungrateful  if  we  do  not  some- 
times meditate  on  this  glorious  privilege,  and  ren- 
der our  thanksgivings  for  it  to  our  heavenly  Father. 
And  besides,  we  must  be  regardless  of  our  own 
comfort,  and  indifferent  to  our  own  felicity,  if  we  do 
not  strive  to  obtain  a  constant  persuasion  and  a  deep 
sense  of  a  doctrine  so  calculated  to  console  us  in 
our  sorrows,  to  quiet  our  fears,  and  to  animate  us 
to  diligence  in  our  christian  course. 

I  well  know  that  on  this  subject  many  persons 
have  substituted  the  impulses  of  imagination,  in 
place  of  the  cool  deductions  of  reason,  and  the  sa- 
cred lights  of  revelation.  I  well  know  that  many 
persons,  "  desirous  to  be  wise  above  what  is  writ- 
ten," have  when  speaking  of  the  heavenly  host,  de- 
livered opinions,  not  only  unsupported  by  the  scrip- 
ture, but  inconsistent  with  its  holy  teachings. — 
I  well  know  that  it  is  a  subject  which  has  often  ex- 
cited the  pitiful  sneer  of  the  modern  Sadducee  and 
conceited  unbeliever  :  But  I  know  also  that  these 
considerations  should  not  deter  us  from  a  sober  ex- 


174  SERMON  IX. 

amination  of  this  precious  truth.  God  has  not  re- 
vealed it  for  no  purpose  :  he  has  not  written  it  down 
in  the  holy  volume  with  a  design  that  we  should 
never  attend  to  it ;  he  expects  our  gratitude  and 
adoration  for  this  proof  of  his  paternal  affection  and 
goodness  :  we  arc  therefore  bound  to  enquire  into 
the  nature  of  this  angelic  ministry.  And  besides, 
according  to  the  judicious  remark  of  Dr.  Owen, 
"  we  have  the  word  of  God  for  our  way  and  guide  ; 
and  if  we  go  not  beside  it,  and  if  we  go  not  beyond 
it,  we  are  as  safe  when  we  treat  of  angels  as  when 
we  treat  of  worms." 

In  illustrating  this  subject,  we  will 

I.  Examine  the  names,  number,  and  perfectic;.,:. 
of  the  angels ; 

II.  Enquire  into  the  extent,  duration,  and  natur.: 
of  their  ministry  ;  and 

III.  Point  out  some  of  those  practical  Icssot.v 
which  result  from  this  doctrine, 

I.  The  names  bestowed  upon  these  high  intelli- 
gences are  indicative  of  their  nature  or  occupations  ; 
it  is  then  proper  to  begin  with  an  examination  of 
them.  One  of  the  most  common  names  given  to 
them  is  angels,  the  primitive  meaning  of  which 


SERMON  IX,  175 

word  is  messengers  ;  it  therefore  denotes  the  office 
to  which  they  are  appointed,  of  carrying  on  the  in- 
tercourse between  God  and  his  creatures.  They 
•are  called  spirits,  to  shew  that  they  are  incorporeal 
and  not  naturally  subject  to  dissolution  ;  seraphim, 
from  a  word  signifying  to  burn,  in  order  to  express 
their  fervent  zeal  and  ardent  love  ;  cherubim,  of  the 
derivation  and  precise  meaning  of  which  term  there 
is  much  doubt ;  watchers,  (Dun.  iv.  13.)  to  display 
their  own  vigilance  and  their  care  in  exciting  others  ; 
morning-stars,  (Job  xxxviii.  7.)  from  the  splendour 
of  their  nature,  the  brightness  of  their  knowledge, 
and  the  earliness  of  their  creation  ;  sons  of  God, 
(Job  xxxviii.  7.)  not  by  adoption,  like  the  pious ; 
much  less  by  eternal  generation,  like  the  blessed 
Redeemer ;  but  because  they  bear  the  impress  of 
the  perfections  of  God  ;  thrones,  dominions,  princi- 
palities, and  powers,  (Col.  i.  16.)  because  of  their 
high  dignity  and  elevation. 

These  are  the  most  common  names  whereby 
they  are  distinguished  in  holy  writ.  As  to  their 
number,  it  is  almost  inconceivable.  Our  Lord 
speaks  of  "  more  than  twelve  legions"  who  would 
instantly  fly  to  his  succour  if  he  required  it :  (Mat. 
xx vi.  53.)  Daniel  beheld  "  thousand  thousands'5 
ministering  to  the  ancient  of  days:  (Dan.  vii.  10.) 
St.  John  in  prophetic  vision  saw  "  ten  thousand  times 
ten  thousand,  and  thousands  of  thousands:"  (Rev* 
y.  11) — and  St.  Paul  who  had  been  caught  up  to  the 

A  a 


ITS  SERMON  IX. 

third  heaven,  attempts  not  to  reckon  them  uji,  but 
callstheman  " innumerable  company :"  Heb.  xii.22. 

The  capacity  of  their  minds,  and  the  degree  of  their 
knowledge,  exceed,  inconceivably  exceed  those  of 
our  feeble  and  short-sighted  race.  No  prejudices  nor 
passions  pervert  their  judgments,  nor  disguise  from 
them  the  truth.  No  cumbersome  body,  fatigued 
with  the  intensity  of  their  application,  interrupts  their 
meditations,  nor  obliges  them  to  intermit  their  re- 
searches. They  live  in  the  region  of  light,  and  there 
contemplating  God,  the  eternal  source  of  truth, 
they  behold  truth  itself,  unveiled  and  unclouded. 
They  have  existed  for  many  thousands  of  years — 
they  have  beheld  not  only  a  great  part  of  what  has 
been  transacted  on  this  our  world,  from  the  period 
of  its  creation,  but  also  what  has  been  done  in  the 
other  parts  of  God's  dominion.  To  what  a  point 
then  must  the  most  extensive  human  knowledge  be 
contracted  when  compared  with  theirs ! 

If  they  thus  shine  with  light,  they  also  burn  xvith 
love.  It  is  all  their  employment  and  all  their  felici- 
ty to  admire,  adore,  serve,  and  imitate  God. — 
There  is  no  moment  of  their  existence  in  which 
their  souls  are  not  penetrated  with  a  rapturous  and 
adoring  sense  of  his  glory  and  excellence  ;  in 
which  they  are  not  overwhelmed  with  gratitude  for 
his  mercy  and  goodness.  Their  hearts  are  so  many 
altars  flaming  by  day  and  by  night  with  the  most 


SERMON  IX.  177 

intense  love,  with  the  most  elevated  devotion.  Lo- 
sing themselves  in  the  contemplation  of  the  works 
and  attributes  of  God,  absorbed  thus  to  speak,  in 
the  Eternal  All,  they  continually  cast  their  crowns 
before  him  and  prostrating  themselves  at  his  throne, 
exclaim  in  holy  extacy,  "  Blessing,  and  glory,  and 
wisdom,  and  thanksgiving,  and  honour,  and  power, 
and  might,  be  unto  God  forever  and  ever.  Great 
and  marvellous  are  thy  works,  Lord  God  Almighty ; 
just  and  true  are  all  thy  ways,  thou  King  of  saints.'* 

These  sublime  intelligences  are  also  endued  with 
power  which,  although  limited,  is  yet  far,  very  far 
superior  to  that  of  the  mightiest  mortals.     David 
teaches  us  that  they  "  excel  in  strength  ;"  (Ps.  ciii. 
20.) — and  St.  Paul  terms  them,  the  "  mighty  an- 
gels  ;"    (2  Thes.  i.  7.) — The  scriptures   abound 
with  the  most  striking   examples  of  their  power. 
Here  we   behold  one  passing  through  the  land  of 
Egypt,  and  in  a  single  night  destroying  the  first-born 
of  every  family,  from  that  of  the  imperial  Pharaoh  to 
that  of  his  meanest   subject.  (Exod.  xii.  29,  30.) 
There  we  see  another  in  the  same  short  period  ex- 
terminating the  army  of  the  proud  Sennacherib,  and 
delivering  Israel,  by  bringing  to  the  tomb  an  hun- 
dred and  fourscore  and  five  thousand  of  its  furious 
and  malignant  enemies  ;  (2  Kings  xix.  35.)     Every 
where,  in  short,   we  find  them  exerting  the  most 
wonderful  strength  for  the  protection  of  the  pious 
and  the  punishment  of  the  ungodly. 


17$  SERMON  IX. 

These  angels  are  immortal,  and  will  never  cease 
to  exist.  Of  this  we  are  assured  by  the  Saviour 
when  he  tells  us,  that  the  pious,  after  the  resurrec- 
tion, "cannot die  any  more  since  they  are  equal, 
or  like  unto  the  angels  :"  (Luke  xx.  36.)  These 
exalted  beings  are  creatures ;  they  therefore  began  to 
be,  and  owe  their  existence  to  God  ;  but  being  m^e 
pure  spirits  they  are  not  naturally  subject  to  disso- 
lution ;  and  being  perfectly  holy  they  need  not  dread 
that  death  which  is  the  wages  of  sin.  Whilst  one 
generation  of  mortals  succeeds  to  another,  they 
still  survive  ;  they  were  living  when  the  Almigh- 
ty first  fixed  the  sun  in  the  heavens ;  they  beheld 
the  first  rays  that  it  shed  forth,  and  saw  time  begin 
its  course,  and  they  will  still  exist  to  behold  the  sun 
and  the  moon  torn  from  the  skies ;  to  behold  time 
sw  allowed  up  in  eternity.  They  were  living  when 
God  first  infused  the  vital  spirit  in  our  great  pro- 
genitor ;  they  saw  him  open  his  eyes  upon  the  light 
and  close  them  in  the  tomb  ;  they  have  beheld  the 
uncounted  millions  of  his  posterity  flitting  in  suc- 
cession over  the  scene  of  life,  and  giving  place  to 
others  as  transient  and  unsubstantial  as  themselves  ; 
and  they  will  still  live  when  this  world  the  residence 
of  mortals,  and  these  material  heavens  on  which  we 
gaze,  shall  be  consumed  together  ;  they  will  live 
whilst  eternity  endures  ;  they  will  live  forever  and 
ever.  i 

These  blessed  spirits  are  most  agile  and  active. 


SERMON  IX.  179 

We  find  them  in  the  scriptures  in  an  instant  de- 
scending from  heaven  to  earth,  or  returning  from 
earth  to  heaven.  We  find  them  performing  with  a 
celerity  almost  inconceivable,  the  most  stupendous 
works.  Unimpeded  by  these  clogs  of  flesh,  unre- 
strained by  this  dull  and  sluggish  matter  to  which 
we  are  united,  they  fly  to  perform  the  divine  will 
with  a  velocity  far  superior  to  that  of  the  rapid  light- 
ning ;  with  a  velocity  of  which  nothing  can  give  us 
any  conception,  except  perhaps  it  be  the  fleet  glan- 
ces of  the  human  mind  which  in  an  instant  can  reach 
to  the  bounds  of  the  universe. 

Finally,  these  angels  enjoy  a  consummate  felici- 
ty. How  can  it  be  otherwise,  since  their  faculties 
of  enjoyment  are  so  vast,  and  the  objects  to  be  en- 
joyed so  glorious  and  inexhaustible.  How  can  it 
be  otherwise  since  they  are  encompassed  by  the 
love  of  God  ;  since  from  the  exhaustless  source  of 
his  all-sufficiency,  this  God  pours  upon  them  that 
full  ocean  of  delights,  some  drops  only  of  which 
when  shed  down  in  the  hearts  of  his  children  on 
earth,  give  them  an  anticipated  heaven. 

But  though  these  exalted  intelligences  are  thus 
happy,  though  seated  on  the  Rock  of  ages  they  feel 
no  anxiety  or  distress,  yet  they  are  not  indifferent 
to  the  happiness  of  mortals ;  they  extend  their 
sensibility  and  their  views  to  this  unhappy  world 
where  sin   and    sorrow    prevail  ;    they  leave  the 


130  SERMON  IX. 

climes  of  bliss,  and  with  joy  fly  hither  to  execute 
the  commands  of  God,  and  minister  to  his  children. 
*'  Are  they  not  all  ministering  spirits,  sent  forth  to 
minister  for  them  that  shall  be  heirs  of  salvation?" 

We  are  to  consider  the  reasons,  the  extent,  the 
nature,  and  duration  of  this  their  ministry  in  the 

II.  Head  of  our  discourse. 

1.  As  God  by  his  word  alone  originally  produced 
all  things,  so  he  could  govern  them  by  his  word 
alone,  without  using  the  instrumentality  of  inferior 
agents.  It  is  not  then  through  weakness  or  neces- 
sity, but  for  reasons  full  of  wisdom  and  goodness 
that  he  employs  the  ministry  of  angels  to  accom- 
plish the  designs  of  his  providence.  He  does  it  to 
honour  the  angels  by  making  them,  in  the  strong 
language  of  the  scripture,  "  workers  together  with 
him."  He  does  it  to  give  to  his  children  an  exam- 
ample  of  obedience  which  is  calculated  to  inspire 
them  with  a  desire  to  do  the  will  of  God  on  earth  as 
it  is  done  by  the  angels  of  heaven.  He  does  it  to 
console  and  cheer  the  pious  by  shewing  them  that 
he  is  so  attentive  to  their  interests,  so  careful  of 
their  felicity,  as  to  employ  his  own  glorious  retinue 
for  their  benefit  and  support.  He  does  it,  that  by 
the  bestowal  and  reception  of  good  offices,  the  ties 
that  will  forever  unite  angels  and  believers,  may  be 
more  closely  cemented.     He  does  it  to  promote  the 


SERMON  IX.  181 

harmony  of  the  universe,  by  connecting  together 
in  the  tenderest  bonds  superior  and  inferior  crea- 
tures, things  visible  and  invisible.  He  does  it  for 
the  manifestation  of  his  own  glory  and  greatness, 
which  are  displayed  by  the  alacrity,  the  joy,  and 
zeal,  with  which  such  noble  and  exalted  creatures 
fly  at  his  command.  He  does  it  to  shew  the  dignity 
and  elevation  of  Jesus  Christ.  This  blessed  Saviour 
is  exalted  "  far  above  all  principality,  and  power, 
and  might,  and  dominion,  and  every  name  that  is 
named,  not  only  in  this  world  but  also  in  that  which 
is  to  come;"(Eph.  i.  22.)  and  is  made  the  prince, 
the  head  and  the  governour  of  the  angels.  If  then 
you  are  but  little  affected  when  you  consider  Jesus 
as  the  head  of  the  church  on  earth,  raise  your 
thoughts  to  heaven,  behold  the  splendid  hosts  of 
angels  that  are  there  subject  to  him  and  are  employ- 
ed by  him  for  the  service  of  his  people  ;  and  you 
cannot  but  be  impressed  with  a  sense  of  his  dignity 
and  greatness.  For  these  and  similar  reasons  God 
uses  the  ministry  of  angels. 

2.  This  ministry  is  not  committed  to  a  few  hun- 
dred or  a  few  thousand  of  the  heavenly  host.  Each 
one  of  the  various  orders  of  angels  from  the  lowest 
rank  to  the  highest  archangel,  is  sent  forth  for  this 
benevolent  purpose.  "  Are  they  not  all  minister- 
ing spirits  ?" 

3.  Perhaps  it  is  difficult  to  tell  the  precise  period 


182  SERMON  IX. 

at  which  they  begin  to  exercise  these  offices  of  char- 
ity, towards  those  who,  according  to  the  eternal 
purposes  of  God,  shall  be  heirs  of  salvation.  It  is 
probable,  however,  that  their  care  commtnces  the 
moment  the  soul  is  infused  into  the  body.  "  Thou 
hast  covered  me,"  says  David,  "  in  my  mother's 
womb."  The  providence  of  God  is  then  thus  early 
extended  over  his  children ;  and  why  may  we  not 
suppose  that  those  angels,  who  in  after-times  are  the 
instruments  of  God's  providence,  serve  the  same 
purpose  at  this  early  period,  and  defend,  strengthen, 
and  cherish  the  chosen  heir  of  heaven,  even  before  it 
has  seen  the  light  ?  Why  may  we  not  suppose  that 
other  angels,  besides  the  one  who  gave  directions  to 
the  wife  of  Manoah,  respecting  her  conduct  before 
the  birth  of  Sampson,  (Judg.  xiii.  13,  14.)  may  have 
invisibly  watched  over  other  mothers  before  their  off- 
spring opened  their  eyes  upon  the  world  ?  This,  we 
say  is  probable,  but  it  is  certain  that  the  holy  angels 
watch  over  children  in  their  tenderest  years.  "  Take 
heed,"  says  our  blessed  Lord,  "that  ye  despise  not 
one  of  these  little  ones ;  for  I  say  unto  you,  that  in 
heaven  their  angels  do  always  hehold  the  face  of  my 
Father,  who  is  in  heaven :"  (Mat.  xviii.  10.) — a 
text  to  be  understood  of  those  little  in  age  and 
growth,  as  well  as  of  converts  who  resemble  chil- 
dren in  docility,  humility  and  harmlessness.  No 
one  can  think  of  all  the  perils  of  children,  and  all  the 
exposures  of  youth,  without  being  astonished  that 
notwithstanding  his  ignorance  and  heedlessness,  he 


SERMON  IX.  185 

has  been  carried  through  them  all,  much  more  safely 
than  he  could  have  been  by  the  greatest  human  pru- 
dence. This  astonishment  is  not  removed  till  we  re- 
member that  heaven  is  observant — that  angels  are 
vigilant. 

The  care  thus  early  commenced  ceases  not  du- 
ring any  of  the  periods  or  vicissitudes  of  life.  In 
the  dreariness  of  old  age  as  well  as  in  the  vigour  of 
youth  ;  in  the  languors  of  disease  as  well  as  in  the 
season  of  health  ;  in  the  gloom  of  affliction  and  sor- 
row as  well  as  in  the  sunshine  of  prosperity  and  joy  ; 
when  the  night  seals  up  our  faculties  in  sleep,  or 
when  we  awake  refreshed  from  our  slumbers :  at 
all  periods  and  in  all  places,  angels  missioned  by 
the  Almighty  surround  us,  and  their  ministry  is  not 
for  a  moment  intermitted,  until  we  arrive  at  the 
abodes  of  the  blest. 

4.  The  objects  of  this  ministry  are  all  "  those 
who  shall  be  heirs  of  salvation.''  The  ungrateful 
neglecter  of  God  cannot  hope  for  this  privilege. 
The  holy  spirits  may  perhaps  extend  a  general  care 
over  the  wicked,  but  they  will  not  exercise  this  ten- 
der and  kind  affection  upon  those  who  outrage  and 
insult  their  master.  "  The  angel  of  the  Lord  en- 
campeth  round  about  them"  only  "  that  fear  him  :" 
(Ps.  xxxiv.  7.)  No,  unhappy  man,  who  hast  no 
part  in  the  blood  of  Christ,  who  hast  no  love  for  this 
Saviour,  who  habitually  disregardest  his  laws ;  to 


184  SERMON  IX. 

thee  no  angels  minister  except  those  that  have  as- 
cended from  hell  and  that  strive  to  lead  thee  thither. 
Thou  dost  not  participate  in  this  inestimable  blessing 
of  the  pious  ;  thou  hast  no  right  to  the  consolations 
of  this  discourse. 

5.  But  what  is  the  nature  and  what  are  the  acts  of 
this  ministry  ? 

These  angels  guard  and  protect  us  in  dangers  ; 
unseen  by  mortal  eyes,  they  often  interpose  in  our 
behalf  and  powerfully  defend  us.  Many  an  arrow 
that  flieth  in  secret,  is  averted  by  their  vigilance  ; 
many  a  calamity  that  was  just  rushing  upon  us  is 
warded  off  by  their  care.  When  Lot  and  his  family 
were  in  danger  of  perishing  in  Sodom,  the  angels  di- 
rected them  to  a  secure  retreat :  (Gen.  xix.  15-17.) 
When  the  king  of  Syria  resolved  to  destroy 
Elisha,  angels  delivered  the  prophet  from  peril ; 
(2  Kings  vi.)  The  three  Hebrew  youths  in  the  fie- 
ry furnace,  and  Daniel  in  the  lions'  den,  were  pre- 
served by  the  ministry  of  angels  :  (Dan.  iii.  25.  and 
vi.  22.) — and  Peter  and  the  apostles  were  by  the 
same  means  rescued  from  prison  :  (Acts  v.  19.  and 
xii.  7.)  And  lest  we  should  suppose  that  these  inter- 
positions were  made  only  for  extraordinary  persons 
and  in  extraordinary  circumstances,  we  are  told  in 
general  terms  by  the  Psalmist  in  a  text  which  has  al- 
ready been  quoted,  "  The  angel  of  the  Lord  en- 
campeth  round  about  those  that  fear  him,  and  deliv- 
ereth  them."    And  in  another  psalm  he  assures  the 


t 


SERMON  IX.  185 


pious  man,  "  God  shall  give  his  angels  charge  over 
thee  to  keep  thee  in  all  thy  ways :  They  shall  bear 
thee  up  in  their  hands  lest  at  any  time  thou  dash  thy 
foot  against  a  stone:"  (Ps.  xci.  11,  12.)  In  all 
our  ways  then  that  are  good,  and  in  every  step  that 
we  tread,  we  have  the  care  and  ministry  of  tutelary 
angels  ;  they  are  our  ordinary  defence  and  guard  ; 
and  in  all  our  justifiable  undertakings  we  may  sav 
with  as  much  confidence  as  Abraham,  "  The  Lord 
before  whom  we  walk,  will  send  his  angel  with  us, 
and  prosper  our  ways."     (Gen.  xxiv.  40.) 

It  is  true  that  notwithstanding  this  care,  the  righte- 
ous sometimes  suffer  afflictions  ;  but  these  are  afflic- 
tions which  are  sent  in  mercy,  for  the  cultivation  of 
their  faith  and  holiness ;  and  which  the  angels,  who 
act  only  according  to  the  commands  and  good  plea- 
sure of  God,  cannot  prevent  without  violating  their 
duty  both  to  their  Lord  and  to  the  objects  of  their 
charge.  But  even  in  such  circumstances,  the  angels 
are  not  careless  and  indifferent  spectators  ;  they  give 
support  to  the  pious  under  these  sorrows,  and  re. 
move  them  when  the  merciful  ends  which  God  in- 
tended by  them  have  been  accomplished. 

Yes,  in  all  our  afflictions  and  distresses,  they  bestow 
the  most  precious  consolations.  Thus  they  minis- 
tered to  Jesus  Christ,  according  to  his  needs  in  his 
agony  in  the  garden  ;  and  what  they  did  for  the  head 
they  perform  for  the  ?nembers,  so  far  as  God  sees  it  is 


186  SERMON  IX. 

expedient.  Thus  they  comforted  and  encouraged 
the  desponding  Elijah:  (1  Kings  xix.)  Thus  they 
brought  joy  to  the  soul  of  Peter,  confined  in  prison  : 
(Aets  xii.  7.)  Thus  they  supported  Paul,  amidst 
the  fury  of  the  tempest.  (Acts  xxvii.  23.)  And 
no  doubt  they  often  perform  the  same  kind  offices 
to  christians  in  the  present  day,  cheering  them  when 
dejected,  and  encouraging  them  when  bowed  down. 
For  this  office  they  are  admirably  qualified  from 
the  tenderness  of  their  natures,  from  a  more  intimate 
acquaintance  with  the  state  of  our  souls  than  our 
earthly  friends  can  have,  from  the  more  rapturous 
consolations  which  they  bring,  from  the  easier  ac- 
cess they  have  to  our  spirits,  and  from  the  impos- 
sibility of  excluding  them  from  the  solitary  sufferer, 
to  whom  human  sympathy  is  prohibited.  In  vain 
will  the  tyrant  strengthen  the  walls  of  the  dungeon 
in  which  the  servant  of  God  is  laid,  and  surround  it 
by  his  guards  ;  all  his  efforts  cannot  shut  out  these 
messengers  of  heaven. 

The  angels  suggest  holy  thoughts,  and  incite  to 
pious  actions.  As  the  evil  spirits  continually  attempt 
to  seduce  us  into  sin,  so  the  blessed  angels  strive  by 
their  monitions  and  excitements  to  preserve  and  ad- 
vance us  in  holiness.  And  as  the  criminal  sugges- 
tions of  the  former  are  not  often  distinctly  perceived, 
because  they  are  rendered  effectual  only  by  being 
mingled  with  our  corruptions — so  on  the  other  hand 
it  is  equally  difficult  distinctly  to  perceive  these  an- 


SERMON  IX.  137 

gehcal  impressions,  because  they  concur  with  that 
principle  of  grace  infused  by  the  Holy  Ghost.  Satan 
and  his  angels  perpetually  compass  the  earth,  seek- 
ing whom  they  may  devour ;  spreading  snares  and 
temptations  for  the  pious  :  the  angels  of  God  stand 
prepared  to  resist  all  their  assaults,  to  admonish  and 
support  the  believer,  who  might  otherwise  be  over- 
come. As  they  rejoiced  in  the  first  repentance  of 
the  sinner,  (Luke  xv.  10.)  so  they  afterwards  de- 
light to  further  him  in  goodness. 

The  angels  minister  to  believers  in  the  hour  of 
death.  In  this  last  conflict  with  the  king  of  terrors, 
they  surround  the  bed  of  the  christian  to  comfort 
and  assist  him,  to  drive  off  the  powers  of  darkness 
that  would  harrass  and  distress  him.  As  they  stood 
by  the  Redeemer  in  his  agony,  so  they  are  with  his 
followers  in  their  last  and  greatest  need.  They  min- 
gle the  song  of  triumph  with  the  sighs  and  tears  of 
our  relatives  and  friends,  and  rejoice  that  "  having 
fought  the  good  fight,  and  kept  the  faith,  and  finish- 
ed our  course, "  we  are  about  to  receive  the  crown 
of  victory.  At  the  moment  when  the  soul  is  separa- 
ted from  the  body,  they  joyfully  receive  k,  defend  it 
from  the  bands  of  apostate  spirits  who  would  wil- 
lingly seize  it,  and  bear  it  exulting  to  the  throne  of 
God.  Thus  they  carried  the  spirit  of  Lazarus  to 
the  bosom  of  Abraham  ;  (Luke  xvi.  22.)  thus  they 
wafted  Elijah  through  the  opening  clouds  to  the  re- 
gions of  glory.  (2  Kings  ii.  11.)    They  present  the 


188  SERMON  IX. 

happy  spirit  to  their  common  Lord ;  they  strengthen 
in  the  world  of  love  the  fellowship  which  was  begun 
on  earth  ;  they  unitedly  raise  the  anthem  of  ever- 
lasting praise  to  the  All-Merciful  and  the  Redeemer. 

At  the  resurrection  and  final  judgment  they  are 
still  employed  for  believers.  It  is  not  their  office 
to  raise  the  bodies  of  the  saints  ;  this  is  the  effect  of 
Almighty  power,  and  is  peculiar  to  the  Deity  :  but 
at  the  consummation  of  all  things,  they  will  attend 
and  make  preparations  for  the  great  events  that  then 
will  be  transacted ;  they  will  descend  from  heaven 
with  their  Lord,  when  "  he  shall  come  in  his  glory 
and  all  his  holy  angels  with  him  :"  (Mat.  xxv.  31.) 
They  will  be  employed  in  summoning  the  sleeping 
dead  to  appear.  "  The  voice  of  the  archangel" 
(1  Thes.  iv.  16.)  will  penetrate  every  grave,  and 
the  rest  of  these  glorious  beings  will  add  to  the  so- 
lemnities of  this  event ;  for  Jesus  "  shall  send  his 
angels  with  a  great  sound  of  a  trumpet,  and  they 
shall  gather  together  his  elect  from  the  four  winds, 
from  one  end  of  heaven  to  the  other."  (Mat.  xxiv. 
31.)  They  accompany  the  souls  of  believers  to 
their  former  bodies.  Over  these  bodies  it  is  not  im- 
probable from  the  conduct  of  Michael,  (Jude  9.) 
that  they  had  some  charge  during  their  separation  from 
their  spirits;  and  now  the  soul  which  they  had  con- 
ducted to  heaven,  they  re-conduct  to  its  former 
tabernacle.  They  "  sever  the  wicked  from  among 
the  just ;"  (Mat.  xiii.  49.)  they  witness  and  ap- 


SERMON  IX.  189 

prove  the  sentence  which  God  pronounces ;  and  as- 
cend to  immutable  felicity  with  the  redeemed  ;  who, 
perfectly  delivered  from  ignorance,  sorrow  and  sin, 
have  no  longer  need  of  their  directions,  their  conso- 
lations, or  their  incitements  to  holiness.  Then  they 
fall  together  with  adoring  gratitude  before  the  Lord, 
and  celebrate  that  sublime  worship  which  was  seen 
in  vision  by  the  beloved  disciple :  "  I  beheld  and  I 
heard  the  voices  of  many  angels  round  about  the 
throne,  and  the  living  creatures,  and  the  elders  ;  and 
the  number  of  them  was  ten  thousand  times  ten  thou- 
sand, and  thousands  of  thousands  ;  saying  with  a 
loud  voice  :  Worthy  is  the  Lamb  that  was  slain,  to 
receive  power,  and  riches,  and  wisdom,  and  strength, 
and  honour,  and  glory  and  blessing.  "(Rev.  v.  11, 12.) 

Such  are  some  of  the  principal  occupations  of  the 
blessed  angels  towards  believers.  We  might  enu- 
merate several  other  offices  of  love,  did  the  limits  of 
our  discourse  permit  it :  but  we  have  mentioned 
enough  to  shew  the  high  privileges  of  those  who 
shall  be  heirs  of  salvation.  We  might  have  added 
many  probable  conjectures  ;  but  we  chose  rather  to 
adhere  to  what  is  plainly  and  unequivocally  taught 
in  the  word  of  God. 

III.  This  subject  is  full  of  useful  instructions.  It  is 
not  presented  to  you  merely  to  amuse  your  imagina- 
tion, but  to  correct  your  feelings,  and  regulate  your 
conduct. 


190  SERMON  IX. 

1.  We  are  bound  to  love,  to  reverence,  and  to 
imitate  these  angels.  While  we  abhor  that  supersti- 
tion and  impiety,  which  renders  to  them  the  worship 
due  only  to  God,  let  us  be  careful  to  cherish  for  them 
those  sentiments,  which  their  characters  and  their 
relations  to  us  require. 

Every  thing  that  tends  to  excite  love,  is  to  be 
found  in  them.  Do  we  love  those  objects  that  are 
excellent  in  themselves  ?  Surely  then  the  holy  an- 
gels deserve  our  affection,  in  a  higher  degree  than 
the  most  perfect  of  mortals,  since  they  are  far  more 
amiable  and  exalted,  have  far  more  of  the  image  of 
God  and  of  moral  beauty,  incomparably  exceed  in 
knowledge  and  benevolence,  any  of  our  friends  on 
earth.  Do  we  love  those  persons  who  are  tenderly 
attached  to  us  ?  The  blessed  angels  have  a  special 
affection  for  us :  as  the  fond  parent,  or  the  pious 
pastor  has  a  peculiar  love  for  the  family  or  flock 
which  God  has  committed  to  him,  so  these  spirits 
feel  a  warm,  a  distinguished  affection  for  those  who 
are  made,  by  the  appointment  of  the  Lord,  their  spe- 
cial charge  and  care.  Besides,  as  they  love  God 
with  greater  intensity  and  ardour  than  we  do,  they 
for  the  sake  of  God,  must  more  warmly  love  those 
who  bear  his  image.  Do  we  love  those  whose  state, 
pursuits  and  inclinations,  are  similar  to  our  own  ? 
The  angel  and  the  christian  are  servants  of  the  samr 
God,  members  of  the  same  immortal  society,  having 
the  same  Jesns  as  their  rommon  head,  engaged  alikr 


SERMON  IX.  191 

in  glorifying  the  Lord,  and  obeying  his  command- 
ments. Every  motive  then  capable  of  exciting  love, 
should  fix  our  attachment  en  them;  and  &weet  in- 
deed, is  the  communion  of  a  believer  with  these  spi- 
rits in  the  exercise  of  mutual  affection. 

Let  us  also  reverence  them.  "  Wheresoever  you 
are,"  said  one  of  the  fathers,  ••  reverence  the  angels.'* 
Let  us  remember,  that  in  our  most  retired  moments, 
in  our  most  secret  solitudes,  we  have  these  as  our 
companions,  and  therefore  let  us  not  dare  to  do  any 
thing  which  we  would  blush  to  perform  in  the  pre- 
sence of  the  most  holy  and  virtuous  of  mankind. 
And  especially  let  us  exercise  this  reverence  for 
them  when  we  are  engaged  in  the  worship  of  God  : 
then  they  are  peculiarly  present  with  us,  and  though 
they  do  not  come  as  preachers  of  the  gospel,  this 
being  committed  to  sinful  men,  that  they  might 
more  deeply  sympathize  with  those  in  the  same  situ- 
ation by  nature  with  themselves,  and  that  their  sue- 
cess  might  be  ascribed  only  to  God  ;  yet  the  angels 
are  carefully  observant  of  our  devotions.  Remember 
then  in  your  approaches  to  God,  not  only  the  great- 
ness and  holiness  of  the  Being  whom  you  adore,  but 
also  the  dignity  of  the  companions  who  join  with 
you  ;  the  zeal,  the  constancy,  and  the  joy  with 'which 
they  serve  their  Maker.  This  remembrance  will 
animate  you  to  exertion,  that  there  may  not  be  too 
great  a  discordance  between  your  praises  and  pray- 
ers, and  those  of  your  fellow- worshippers. 


192  SERMON  IX. 

If  we  thus  love  and  reverence,  we  shall  be  careful 
also  to  imitate  them :  like  them,  we  shall  make  it 
our  chief  delight  to  obey  and  glorify  God,  and  shall 
esteem  it  our  highest  title  of  honour  to  be  his  ser- 
vants. We  shall  strive  according  to  our  daily  prayer, 
to  do  "  the  will  of  God  on  earth,  as  it  is  done  in  hea- 
ven." With  David,  we  shall  from  the  consideration 
of  their  employments,  rouse  up  our  own  souls  to  the 
same  occupations ;  and  having  exclaimed,  "  Bless 
the  Lord,  ye  his  angels,  that  excel  in  strength,"  we 
shall  fervently  add,  "Bless  the  Lord,  O  my  soul !" 
Like  these  benevolent  spirits,  we  shall  make  it  our 
delight  to  succour  the  afflicted,  to  console  the  unhap- 
py, to  confirm  the  wavering,  to  direct  the  doubting. 
When  so  elated  with  pride  by  those  distinctions  made 
between  us  and  others,  by  nature*  or  providence,  or 
imagination,  as  to  regard  those  beneath  us  with  con- 
tempt, and  refuse  to  interest  ourselves  in  their  con- 
cerns, let  us  think  of  the  angels :  though  far  more 
elevated  above  the  highest  of  our  race,  than  any  man 
can  be  above  his  fellow- worm,  yet  they  condescend 
to  minister  unto  us ;  to  extend  their  sympathies  and 
attention  even  to  a  Lazarus,  whom  the  rich  man 
treats  with  disdain.  Let  us  cultivate  this  same  con- 
descension and  tenderness,  if  we  would  be  truly 
great. 

2.  The  ministry  of  angels  demands  our  gratitude 
to  God.  "  The  Lord  forgive  me,"  says  the  excel- 
lent Bishop  Hall,  "  for  that  among  my  other  offences, 


SERMON  IX.  193 

I  have  suffered  myself  so  much  to  forget,  not  only 
his  divine  presence,  but  also  the  presence  of  his  holy 
angels.  It  is,  I  confess,  my  great  sin  that  I  have 
filled  up  my  eyes  with  other  objects,  and  been  slack 
in  returning  praises  to  my  God  for  the  continual  as- 
sistance of  those  blessed  and  beneficent  spirits,  who 
have  ever  graciously  attended  me  without  intermis- 
sion from  the  first  hour  of  my  conception  to  the  pre- 
sent moment;  neither  ever  shall,  I  hope,  absent  them- 
selves from  my  tutelage  and  protection,  till  they  shall 
have  presented  my  poor  soul  to  her  final  glory." 
We  have  all  of  us  need  with  him  to  supplicate  for- 
giveness for  this  omission  :  when  God  honours  us 
with  the  attendance  of  his  own  glorious  retinue, 
commissions  the  brightest  orders  in  creation  to  serve 
as  guides,  instructors,  and  comforters  to  us,  shall  no 
gratitude  swell  our  hearts,  shall  no  thanksgivings  burst 
from  our  lips  for  this  tenderness  and  love  ?  shall 
not  "  men  praise  the  Lord  for  his  goodness,  for  these 
his  wonderful  works  to  the  children  of  men  ?" 

We  frequently  speak  of  the  power  and  malice  of 
evil  spirits,  and  of  the  temptations  with  which  they 
assail  us  :  why  then  do  we  forget  the  assistance  of 
the  good  angels,  except  that  we  more  easily  retain 
the  remembrance  of  injuries  than  of  mercies ;  or 
that  we  think  to  excuse  ourselves  by  casting  the 
blame  of  our  sins  upon  satan,  while  we  would  re- 
serve to  ourselves  all  the  glory  of  our  good  deeds  ? 
Are  these  dispositions  becoming  a  believer  ? 


J  94  SERMON  IX. 

3.  This  subject  should  solace  the  believer  in  all 
his  dangers  and  distresses.  However  numerous  or 
powerful  may  be  your  foes,  you  may  always  con- 
fidently use  the  language  of  Elisha  when  he  was  en- 
compassed with  hostile  troops,  and  without  any  visi- 
ble means  of  deliverance,  '*  They  that  be  with  us 
are  more  than  they  which  be  with  them."  (2  Kings 
vi.  16.)  In  the  midst  of  your  perils,  if  your  eyes 
were  opened  like  those  of  his  servant,  you  would 
bthold  the  angelic  band  surrounding  you,  and  all 
your  apprehensions  would  be  dissipated.  By  that 
faith  which  "  is  the  evidence  of  things  not  seen," 
contemplate  at  all  times  these  holy  beings,  vigilant, 
benevolent,  powerful,  and  faithful  in  the  discharge  of 
the  office  committed  to  them :  to  the  reproaches 
of  the  ungodly,  oppose  the  approbation  of  these 
witnesses  of  your  conduct ;  when  your  heart  is 
pained  by  the  blasphemies  of  the  impenitent,  think 
of  their  hallelujahs  to  the  God  whom  you  love; 
under  infirmities  of  body,  anticipate  the  time  when 
"  this  tabernacle  shall  be  dissolved,"  and  you  shall 
resemble  them  ;  when  bereaved  of  friends,  recollect 
that  these  your  oldest,  your  most  tried  created  friends, 
still  are  with  you  ;  when  persecuted  or  oppressed, 
recal  their  conduct  to  those  who  in  former  times 
were  in  the  same  situation  ;  when  about  to  enter  in- 
to eternity,  rejoice  at  the  purity,  the  tenderness,  the 
zeal  of  the  companions  with  whom  you  shall  for- 
ever dwell, 


SERMON  IX.  195 

4.  Despiser  of  the  grace  of  Jesus,  in  what  man- 
ner  do  these  angels  regard  you  ?     They  were  inno- 
cent;   fur  them  it    was  not  necessary  that  Jesus 
should  die,  that  the  bloou"  of  the  covenant  should 
flow  ;  yet  they  treated  not  his  atonement  with  indif- 
ference ;    they  announced  his  birth  with  rapture  to 
Zechariah,  to  the  Virgin,  to  Joseph,  to  the  shep- 
herds ;  they  descended  from  heaven  to  felicitate  the 
earth  upon  it ;  they  attended  the  Redeemer  in  the 
wilderness,  and  the  garden;  they  rolled  away  the 
stone  from  the  sepulchre,  that  mortals  might  learn 
widi  joy  that  the  Saviour  had  risen  from  the  dead ; 
they  were  with  him  when  he  rose  refulgent  from  the 
hoiy  mountain  ;  they  still  make  his  praise  their  theme 
and  their  delight ;  and  notwithstanding  the  extent  of 
their  powers,  they  see  such  glories  and  such  won- 
ders of  love  in  the  mysteries  of  redemption,  that 
they    constantly    search    more   deeply  into    them. 
(1  Pet.  i.  12.)     If  such  have  been  their  sentiments 
and  conduct,  notwithstanding  they  were  secure  with- 
out the  sacrifice  of  Immanuel,  with  what  mingled 
indignation  and  pity  must  they  look  at  you  ?    What 
must  they  think  of  the  baseness,  the  ingratitude,  the 
madness  of  your  conduct?     Could  tears  be  shed  by 
them,  they  would  surely  weep,  when  they  beheld 
guilty,  unhappy  mortals,  exposed  to  a  misery  that 
has  no  other  bounds  than  eternity,  yet  despising  the 
grace  that  would  save  them,  neglecting  that  Re- 
deemer who  died  for  them,  breaking  through  the  re- 
straints that  divine  mercy  has  placed  between  them 


19ft  SERMON  IX. 

and  the  world  of  torments,  and  wading  through  the 
blood  of  Jesus  flowing  between  them  and  hell,  that 
they  may  seize  upon  damnation.  Oh !  be  not  so 
ungrateful  to  your  Lord,  such  cruel  enemies  to  your 
own  felicity.  At  last  renounce  your  sins,  and  accept 
the  offers  of  salvation  :  then  the  angels,  who  are  now 
in  the  midst  of  us,  shall  rejoice  over  you,  and  shall 
shout,  "  Our  brother  was  dead  and  is  alive  again, 
he  was  lost  and  is  found." 

5.  Finally,  how  much  happier  is  the  meanest,  and 
most  despised  christian,  than  the  most  prosperous  sin- 
ner. Ye  worldlings,  who  are  surrounded  with  riches, 
with  dignities  and  acquirements,  come,  and  for  a 
moment  compare  your  situation  with  that  of  the 
humble  followers  of  Jesus.  Enlightened  by  the  re- 
velation of  God  I  look  at  invisible  things  :  you  both 
are  surrounded  by  bands  of  powerful  spirits ;  but 
the  host  that  attends  you  has  risen  from  hell ;  they 
flatter  and  delude  you  that  they  may  lead  you  into 
the  abyss  ;  they  tell  you  that  religion  is  useless  or 
false  ;  that  there  is  no  necessity  of  a  strict  regard  to 
the  duties  of  piety ;  that  the  threatenings  of  the  gos- 
pel need  not  terrify  you  ;  that  you  may  be  saved 
without  a  change  of  heart,  the  application  of  the 
blood  of  Jesus,  and  the  influences  of  the  Holy  Spirit : 
thus  they  whisper  to  you ;  you  believe  them,  and 
charge  God  with  falsehood,  who  has  taught  you 
otherwise ;  you  follow  their  suggestions,  and  pre- 
pare to  share  their  fate  :    shortly  death  will  come  : 


SERMON  IX.  197 

stripping  you  of  this  body,  it  will  remove  from  your 
eyes  that  veil  which  hides  from  you  your  present 
companions  :  they  will  seize  upon  your  shudder- 
ing soul,  and  while  they,  the  fierce  executioners  of 
God's  wrath,  exercise  upon  it  their  malignant  fury, 
they  will  laugh  you  to  scorn,  because  you  were  so 
foolish  as  to  believe  them,  when  God  and  his  Spirit, 
and  his  people,  and  his  ministers,  warned  you  of 
your  danger. 

This  is  your  situation,  unhappy  man  :  contrast  it 
now  with  that  of  the  humble  christian  whom  you 
despise.  The  most  glorious  and  holy  part  of  crea- 
tion daily  and  nightly  encamp,  around  him ;  feel  for 
him  the  most  ardent  affection  ;  guide  him  during  all 
his  pilgrimage  ;  and  when  death  comes,  own  him  as 
a  brother,  and  carry  him  in  triumph  to  their  Lord* 
Sinner,  I  appeal  to  your  own  conscience,  which  of 
these  two  states  is  preferable  ?  Ah!  you  cannot  avoid 
wishing  for  the  lot  of  the  righteous ;  hasten  then, 
and  seek  the  favour  of  the  Lord  of  angels,  and  of 
Jesus  Christ  their  prince.  Thus,  and  thus  only,  will 
they  become  your  friends. 


SERMON  X. 

LIFE  OF  ADAM. 

Genesis  v.  5.' 

"  And  all   the  days  that  Adam  lived  xvere  nine    hundred 
and  thirty  years ;  and  he  died." 

IN  the  holy  scriptures,  God  has  used  a  variety 
of  methods  to  teach  us  our  duty,  and  to  touch  our 
hearts.  Sometimes  we  read  those  plain  and  unequiv- 
ocal precepts  which  declare  his  will,  and  at  other 
times  we  are  instructed  by  an  interesting  parable. 
Now  we  are  allured  by  the  voice  of  mercy,  which 
sounds  from  Zion  ;  and  then  we  are  alarmed  by  the 
thunders  which  roll  over  Sinai.  Heaven  is  here 
unveiled  to  us,  and  we  almost  hear  the  harps  of  an- 
gels, and  the  hallelujahs  of  the  glorified  saints  ;  hell 
is  there  uncovered,  and  the  shrieks  of  the  despairing 
vibrate  on  our  ears,  and  the  smoke  of  their  torments 
rises  before  our  eyes.  Here  prophets  look  down  the 
long  current  of  years,  and  predict  things  which  are 
to  come  ;  there,  inspired  historians  shew  us  the  ac- 
complishment of  these  predictions.  Here  the  merits 
of  the  Redeemer,  and  promises  sealed  with  blood., 
are  reached  forth  to  us  by  our  heavenly  Father ; 
there  the  deep  pollution  of  our  hearts,  and  the  dc- 


SERMON  X.  199 

merits  of  sin  are  developed  to  us.     Every  method 
is  employed  to  bring  back  rebellious  and  revolted 
man  to  God,  and  to  happiness.  The  understanding, 
the  heart,  and  the  conscience,  are  by  turns  addressed 
in  language  the  most    forcible,   and  by    motives 
weighty  as  eternity.     But  the  inspiring  Spirit,   well 
knowing  the  frame  of  man,    well  knowing  how 
strongly  we  are  stimulated  by  example,  has  especi- 
ally chosen  to  communicate  instruction  to  us  from 
the  lives  of  others.     The  greater  part  of  the  sacred 
volume,  is  historical ;  and  the  histories  which  it  re- 
lates, are  not  intended  merely  to  excite  a  barren  ad- 
miration, or  to  gratify  an  idle  curiosity  ;  but  are  de- 
signed and  calculated  to  cherish  the  love  and  the  fear 
of  God,  to  teach  us  what  he  is,  and  what  we  are, 
and  to  give  new  warmth  to  all  our  devotional  feel- 
ings.   Properly  speaking,  they  are  not  so  much  the 
history  of  particular  men  or  nations  as  the  history  of 
God,  of  his  nature,  his  perfections,  his  providence 
and  will,  as  exemplified  in  these  particular  instances ; 
and  they  therefore  when  properly  considered  are 
eminently  calculated  to  lead  the  heart  and  the  affec- 
tions to  him.     When  the  blighted  beauties  of  Eden 
are  presented  to  our  eyes,  it  is  not  that  our  regrets 
may  be  excited  from  contrasting  it  with  its  former 
beauty,  but  that  we  may  be  made  to  shudder  at 
the  guilt  of  sin,  and  tremble  at  the  danger  of  disobey- 
ing the  Most  High.     When  we  behold  Noah  riding 
on  the  back  of  the  swelling  surges,  secure  amidst 
the  desolation  of  a  world,  it  is  our  duty  not  merely 

Dn 


206  SERMON  X. 

to  rejoice  at  his  personal  deliverance  ;  but  to  mark 
also  the  faithfulness  of  God,  and  the  blessedness 
that  results  from  believing  his  declarations  and  obey- 
ing his  precepts.  When  we  see  the  arm  of  Abra- 
ham extended  and  ready  to  be  dyed  with  the  gushing 
blood  of  his  son,  we  should  not  merely  have  our  natu- 
ral sympathies  excited,  but  learn  from  him  to  sacri- 
fice the  dearest  objects  of  our  affections,  those  on 
which  our  souls  rest  with  fondest  delight,  at  the 
command  of  God.  When  the  smoking  ruins  of  Je- 
rusalem arc  spread  before  us,  when  we  behold  the 
countless  number  of.  her  children  that  became  the 
victims  of  the  sword,  of  famine,  and  of  sedition  ; 
when  we  listen  to  the  shrieks  of  the  bereaved,  and 
mark  the  convulsive  struggles  of  the  dying ;  it  is  not 
merely  to  fill  our  eyes  with  tears,  and  our  hearts  with 
sorrow  for  this  unhappy  nation,  that  this  picture  is 
presented  to  us  ;  but  to  shew  us  the  terrors  of  Je- 
hovah, the  woes  which  must  crush  the  guilty,  when 
the  patience  of  the  Lord  is  exhausted,  and  the  arm  of 
the  living  God  armed  with  thunders  is  raised  against 
them,  and  the  accumulated  misery  which  must  at 
last  overtake  those  who  despise  the  means  of  grace, 
and  the  offers  of  salvation. 

It  cannot'  then  but  be  highly  profitable  for  us  to 
review  some  of  the  histories  contained  in  the  sacred 
volume,  and  enquire  what  are  those  lessons  of  wis- 
dom and  piety  which  we  are  taught  by  them.  It 
must  especially  be  interesting  to  consider  the  history 
of  our  great  progenitor,  since  his  life  is  so  intimate- 


SERMON  X.  201 

ly  connected  with  the  state  of  the  world  around  us, 
with  our  constitutions  and  frames,  and  with  that 
plan  of  redemption  on  which  all  our  hopes  are  found- 
ed ;  since  his  life  is  full  of  events  in  comparison 
with  which  the  achievements  of  the  most  illustrious 
heroes  become  contemptible,  and  the  rise  and  fall  of 
the  greatest  empires  that  ever  existed  upon  earth 
dwindle  into  insignificance.  Listen  then,  my  breth- 
ren, while  following  the  word  of  God,  we  present 
to    you  the  life  of  the  first-created  man. 

The  world  had  already  been  formed  by  the  great 
Creator ;  it  displayed  his  perfections,  and  was  re- 
plenished with  every  thing  necessary  for  the  benefit 
or  felicity  of  man.  But  there  was  yet  no  rational 
being  that  inhabited  it  to  contemplate  these  works, 
and  trace  in  them  with  adoring  wonder,  the  wisdom, 
the  goodness,  and  the  power  of  Him  who  made 
them.  The  sun,  the  moon,  and  the  stars,  declare^  in 
their  courses  the  glory  of  God  ;  but  they  did  jiot 
perceive  this  glory.  The  earth  with  its  production 
showed  that  its  Maker  was  divine ;  but  unendued 
with  intelligence,  it  could  not  recognize  the  divinity. 
Man  then  was  formed,  to  behold  this  glory,  to  see 
these  traces  of  the  Godhead ;  and  on  earth  to  res- 
pond to  the  heavenly  host,  among  whom  "  the  morn- 
ing stars  sang  together,  and  the  sons  of  God  shout- 
ed for  joy,"  at  the  view  of  the  new  creation.  In  or- 
der to  manifest  his  superior  dignity,  at  his  creation, 
there  was  as  it  were,  a  solemn  consultation  of  thr 


202  SERMON  X. 

sacred  Trinity  ;  for  the  holy  volume  plainly  intimates 
a  concurrence  in  counsel  of  the  three  persons  for  the 
formation  as  well  as  redemption  of  man.  When  other 
things  were  to  be  produced,  God  spake,  and  they 
appeared.  He  said,  Let  them  be,  and  they  were. 
But  at  the  creation  of  man,  he  said,  "  Let  us  make 
man  in  our  image,  after  our  likeness.'*  His  body 
was  formed  of  the  dust  of  the  earth,  and  lay  like  it, 
inanimate,  till  a  nobler  and  immortal  principle  was 
infused  in  him  immediately  by  God  :  "  The  Lord 
breathed  into  his  nostrils  the  breath  of  life,  and  he 
became  a  living  soul."  Being  formed  in  the  image 
of  God,  he  was  called  Adam,  from  a  Hebrew  word 
signifying  likeness.* 

Springing  immediately  from  the  hands  of  his  Cre- 
ator, he  was  doubtless  endued  with  a  perfection  of 
bodily  and  soul,  of  which  we  oan  form  but  a  feeble 
conception.  In  the  plenitude  of  his  powers  he  came 
inth  being.  When  the  second  Adam,  the  Lord 
ikym  heaven,  appeared  to  repair  the  ruins  of  the  fall, 
he  in  compassion  to  us,  and  to  encourage  all  of  eve- 
ry age  to  apply  to  him  with  confidence,  became  the 
"babe  of  Bethlehem,  and  the  youth  that  dweit  at  Naz- 
areth ;  but  our  progenitor  appeared  at  once  in  his 
maturity,  and  knew  nothing  of  the  feebleness  of  in- 
fancy and  childhood,  of  the  dangers  and  inexperience 
of  youth.  "He  was  made  a  little  lower  than  the 
angels."  H;s  body  was  probably  surrounded  by  a 
#  See  Parkhum's  Hebrew  Lexicon. 


SERMON  X.  203 

splendour  like  that  of  Moses,  when  he  descended 
from  the  mount,  like  that  of  Jesus  when  he  was 
transfigured  upon  Tabor.  The  divine  image  which 
he  bore,  and  in  which,  alas  !  the  most  eminent  be- 
lievers in  this  life  are  but  very  partially  renewed, 
consisted,  as  we  judge  from  some  expressions  of 
St.  Paul,  (Col.  iii.  10.  Eph.  iv.  24.)  in  knowledge, 
righteousness,  and  true  holiness.  His  mind  not  yet 
darkened  by  sin,  was  free  from  error  and  prejudice, 
and  inspired  with  all  natural,  and  especially  moral 
knowledge,  necessary  for  his  state  :  his  soul  had  no 
vicious  propensity ;  his  will  was  conformed  to 
the  will  of  God  ;  his  heart,  filled  with  love  to  God, 
flamed  with  the  fervours  of  devotion  and  gratitude  by 
night  and  by  day.  Full  dominion  was  given  him 
over  all  the  creatures  ;  and  he  enjoyed  an  intimate 
communion  with  his  Almighty  Friend,  and  fellowship 
with  the  holy  angels.  It  is  this  communion  and  in- 
tercourse with  God,  which  forms  the  felicity  of  hea- 
ven :  must  it  not  have  given  inexpressible  delight 
to  Adam  upon  earth  ?  He  was  placed  in  the  most 
beautiful  part  of  a  world,  all  of  which  was  beautiful. 
This  spot  is  called  the  garden  of  Eden,  or  of  delight; 
its  exact  situation,  cannot  with  precision  be  ascer- 
tained ;  neither  is  it  necessary  that  it  should  :  "  I  do 
not,"  says  good  bishop  Hall,  "  seek  where  that  Par- 
adise was  which  we  lost ;  I  know  where  that  Para- 
dise is,  which  we  must  study  to  seek,  and  hope  to 
find.  As  man  was  the  image  of  God,  so  was  that 
earthly  Paradise  an  image  of  heaven  ;  both  the  ima- 


20*  SERMON  X. 

ges  are  lost ;  both  the  first  patterns  are  eternal."  In 
this  favoured  spot  were  collected  all  that  was  useful 
or  pleasant;  every  variety  of  the  animal  or  vegetable 
creation  ;  all  that  could  gratify  the  senses,  the  ima- 
gination, or  the  heart ;  and  among  the  rest,  two  sym- 
bolical and  sacramental  trees  ;  the  one,  the  tree  of 
life,  the  seal  of  that  life  and  felicity,  which  would 
have  resulted  from  obedience,  and  <c  by  divine  insti- 
tution a  visible,  familiar,  and  permanent  lesson,  by 
which  man  was  not  only  admonished  of  the  eternal 
distinction  between  good  and  evil,  but  put  upon  his 
guard  as  to  the  quarter  from  which  alone  evil  could 
assail  him.*"  The  other  the  tree  of  knowledge  of 
good  and  evil,  the  seal  of  that  death,  which  was. 
threatened  upon  disobedience. 

Here  God  was  pleased  to  enter  into  a  covenant 
with  man  Though  as  our  Creator,  we  are  bound  to 
obey  him,  yet  he  will  not  claim  this  obedience  solely 
from  his  absolute  sovereignty  ;  but  condescends  to 
form  a  covenant  of  friendship,  in  which  he  vouch- 
safes to  engage  to  recompense  this  obedience.  He 
permits  man  to  eat  of  all  except  one  tree,  which  he 
is  prohibited  to  taste,  under  the  most  awful  threaten- 
ing :  "Of  every  tree  in  the  garden  thou  mayest 
freely  eat,  but  of  the  tree  of  knowledge  of  good  and 
evil,  thou  shalt  not  eat  of  it,  for  in  the  day  that  thou 
catest  thereof,  thou  shalt  surely  die."  Thus  he  was 
placed  between  life  and  death ;  the  symbols  of  both 

*  Vitringa,  Obs.  Sac. 


SERMON  X.  1205 

grew  nigh  each  other,  and  were  constantly  exhibited 
to  him,  and  he  left  to  choose  between  them,  after  he 
had  received  proper  instruction  from  God. 


But  there  was  still  a  void  in  the  heart  of  Adam  ; 
he  still  needed  some  one  of  the  same  nature  and 
powers  with  himself :  formed  for  social  intercourse, 
he  needed  some  heart  that  would  unite  with  his  in 
celebrating  the  author  of  all  good ;  some  being,  not 
like  the  angels  elevated  above  him,  but  of  the  same 
rank  with  himself  with  whom  he  might  form  the 
tenderest  ties.  He  had  looked  through  the  inferior 
creation  and  found  no  helpmeet  for  him,  and  he 
sighed  for  one  with  whom  to  share  the  hap- 
piness which  he  enjoyed.  How  long  he  remained 
solitary  we  are  not  informed  ;  long  enough  however 
to  be  taught  a  language  by  God  and  to  receive  much 
information  from  him,  and  to  survey  every  animal  of 
the  land  and  the  air,  and  bestow  upon  them  sig- 
nificant names.  Feeling  his  want,  disposed  to  seek 
this  blessing  from  God,  and  to  receive  it  with  grat- 
itude, it  was  not  long  withheld  from  him.  In  or. 
der  that  his  partner  might  be  more  endeared  to  him, 
God  was  pleased  to  make  her  not  only  like  him,  but 
also  of  his  very  substance,  and  then  conduct  her  as 
his  gift  to  man.  Who  can  conceive  the  happiness  of 
this  blessed  pair  ?  Surrounded  by  every  thing  that 
they  could  desire,  rich  in  the  most  cordial  love  to 
each  other,  and  united  in  the  warmest  love  to  their 
God ;  ignorant  of  those  vices  and,  passions  which 


206  SERMON  X. 

embitter  life,  and  of  that  misery  which  is  the  fruit 
and  the  effect  of  sin ;  enjoying  the  visits  of  God  and 
his  angels,  what  more  did  they  need.  How  sweet 
was  the  interchange  of  affection  between  them  ;  how 
perfect  the  communion  of  thoughts,  of  sentiments, 
and  good  wishes  !  What  new  gratitude  swelled  the 
bosom  of  Adam,  and  with  what  transport,  as  one 
expresses  it,  "  did  he  change  the  solitary,  My  Father 
and  my  God,  into  the  social  Our  Father  and  our 
God."  It  is  a  state  on  which  the  imagination  rests 
with  delight :  the  mind,  pained  with  the  sins,  the 
follies,  and  the  woes  which  now  infest  the  world, 
loves  to  wander  back  to  the  holy  groves  of  Para- 
dise, and  to  linger  by  the  peaceful  streams  of  Eden. 

How  long  this  happy  state  continued  we  know  not ; 
The  scriptures,  our  only  source  of  information,  do 
not  inform  us  ;*  but  after  some  time  they  fell :  fell 
into  that  abyss  of  woe  in  which  we  yet  lie.  This 
sun  which  had  risen  with  so  much  splendour  and 
darted  forth  such  cheering  and  animating  beams, 
was  soon  obscured  by  rising  clouds. 

From  the  brevity  of  the  scripture  account  of  this 

*  Some  persons  from  the  consideration  that  almost  every  great 
trial  mentioned  in  the  scriptures  was  linrted  to  forty  days,  as  ap- 
pears from  the  history  of  Mosei,  of  Elijah,  of  Nineveh,  and 
especially  of  tha*  Redeemer  of  whom  Adam  was  the  type,  and 
who  came  to  vanquish  the  seducer  of  the  first  man,  have  con- 
cluded that  the  trill  of  our  first  parents  lasted  for  this  time, 


SERMON  X.  5207 

event,  it  is  not  surprising  that  we  meet  with  some 
difficulties  in  it.  Yet  what  if  there  were  more ; 
should  we  therefore  be  authorised  to  reject  this  rela- 
tion ?  Little  have  we  observed  either  nature  or  pro- 
vidence, if  we  have  not  learned  that  though  "  righ- 
teousness and  judgment  are  the  habitation  of  God's 
throne,"  yet,  "  clouds  and  darkness  are  often  round 
about  him."  It  is  perfectly  inconsistent  with  the 
humility  becoming  worms  of  the  dust,  to  sit  in 
judgment  on  the  conduct  of  God,  and  to  treat  as  im- 
proper, what  our  feeble  reason  cannot  perfectly  com- 
prehend. In  things  that  are  mysterious,  let  us  al- 
ways bend  and  adore,  "  knowing  that  the  Judge  of 
all  the  earth  will  do  right." 

The  following  is  the  substance  of  what  we  know 
concerning  this  interesting  event.  God,  no  doubt 
in  infinite  wisdom,  appears  to  have  thought  proper 
to  subject  all  his  intelligent  creatures  to  some  trial 
before  they  were  confirmed,  to  place  them  in  a  state 
of  probation  before  they  were  established.  This  was 
the  case  with  the  angels,  some  of  whom  fell;  this  was 
also  the  case  with  men.  To  produce  and  to  preserve 
upon  their  minds  a  sense  of  their  dependence  upon 
God,  and  of  his  authority  over  them,  some  test  of 
their  obedience  must  be  given.  This  test,  from  the 
situation  in  which  the  world  then  was,  could  not  be 
any  of  those  great  moral  precepts,  which  would  an- 
swer this  purpose  with  regard  to  us.     What  moral 

precept  could  have  been  given  to  Adam  for  his 

Ee 


2Q|  SERMON  X. 

trial,  and  as  the  condition  of  the  covenant  formed 
with  him  ?  He  could  not  be  enjoined  to  honour  his 
parents — he  had  none  :  nor  to  abstain  from  murder, 
since,  even  if  he  had  known  what  death  was,  and 
how  to  inflict  it,  this  crime  could  be  committed  only 
upon  the  object  of  his  dearest  affections,  without 
whom  the  world  would  be  a  solitude  to  him  :  the 
only  twro  of  the  human  race  could  not  violate  the 
marriage  bed :  Adam  could  not  steal  nor  covet,  be- 
cause all  things  belonged  to  him :  nor  bear  false 
witness,  since  there  was  no  motive  that  could  incite 
him  to  do  it  against  the  wife  of  his  bosom  :  nor  for- 
give his  enemies— none  existed.  It  is  the  same  with 
regard  to  the  first  table  of  the  law  :  false  Gods  were 
yet  unknown ;  and  images,  invented  to  bring  to 
mind  the  absent  and  invisible,  could  not  be  made  by 
those  who  daily  saw  the  glory,  and  heard  the  voice 
of  God  in  the  garden  :  perjury  was  the  result  of  a 
more  corrupted  state  of  society  ;  and  the  visible 
splendour  of  the  Shekinah  was  too  great  to  permit 
them  to  trifle  with,  or  profane  the  name  of  its  ador- 
able resident :  the  rest  of  the  sabbath  coukl  not  be 
violated  by  those,  who  had  no  occasion  for  labour  ; 
who  on  that  day  enjoyed  the  special  visitations  and 
presence  of  God,  and  who  just  come  from  the  form- 
ing hands  of  their  Maker,  could  not  possibly  forget 
the  wonders  of  creation.  What  moral  precept  then 
can  you  select,  proper  to  be  used  as  a  test  of  the 
obedience  of  our  first  parents  ?  These  moral  pre 
cepts  violate,  and  therefore  their  keep 


SERMON  X.  209 

mg  them  would  be  no  test  of  virtue.  Besides,  the 
holiness  of  man  rendered  moral  precepts  improper 
for  this  purpose.  To  man,  depraved  and  sinful 
whose  natural  inclinations  are  estranged  from  God 
and  holiness,  they  may  serve  as  tests,  since  his  com- 
pliance with  them,  in  opposition  to  the  seductions  of 
corruption,  may  prove  his  regard  to  the  authority 
of  God.  But  in  innocent  man  all  whose  inclinations 
and  desires  led  to  their  performance,  who  had  no 
bias  contrary  to  them,  whose  nature  and  constitution 
induced  him  to  comply  with  them  ;  in  such  a  being 
obedience  to  them  would  not  be  a  proof  of  his  re. 
gard  to  the  commands  of  God,  since  such  an  obe- 
dience would  be  the  necessary  result  of  his  nature 
and  the  habits  of  his  souL  It  was  then  necessary 
that  the  test  should  be  some  positive  precept ;  and 
the  more  simple  and  easy  this  precept,  the  more 
would  it  display  the  goodness  of  God,  and  render 
man  inexcusable  for  its  violation.  What  then  could 
be  more  suitable  and  proper  for  our  first  parents, 
living  in  a  garden,  than  the  command  to  abstain 
from  a  particular  tree  ?  Where  now  are  all  the  im. 
pious  witticisms  of  libertines  on  this  subject  ? 

The  same  God  who,  in  consistence  with  his  at. 
tributes  permits  us  still  to  meet  with  seductions  and 
to  be  exposed  to  tempters,  permitted  it  then.  The 
apostate  spirit  assumed  the  body  of  the  serpent,  which 
in  the  state  of  innocence  was  as  familiar  with  man 
as  any  othsr  animal,  and  inspiring  it  with  new  wis- 


210  SERMON  X. 

dom  addressed  himself  to  that  party,  which  being 
more  tender  and  pliable,  might  more  easily  be  led 
astray,  and  being  more  amiable  and  persuasive, 
would  when  depraved  more  probably  seduce  the 
other.  We  are  not  acquainted  with  the  whole  pro- 
cess of  the  temptation  ;  we  know  enough  to  per- 
ceive that  it  was  subtle.  Satan  first  enquires  as 
though  for  information  whether  this  tree  be  prohibit- 
ed :  he  suggests  that  she  may  have  erred  in  her 
opinion  ;  he  insinuates  that  it  was  the  envy  of  their 
Creator  which  debarred  them  from  this  valuable 
fruit  ;  he  speaks  of  it  as  pleasant  to  the  taste,  as  de- 
sirable to  make  one  wise,  and  at  last  he  boldly  de- 
clares that  the  threatening  will  not  be  executed,  but 
they  exalted  to  a  higher  rank  of  being,  by  a  violation 
of  the  command  :  "  Ye  shall  not  die,  but  shall  be  as 
Gods,  knowing  good  and  evil."  She  was  made 
with  power  to  stand,  but  free  to  fall  :  She  listened 
to  the  tempter,  and  in  an  evil  hour  she  plucked  and 
ate.  Adam,  overcome  by  Eve's  persuasions  and 
seductions,  yet  "  not  deceived,"  says  the  apostle, 
(I  Tim.  ii.  14.)  presumptuously  partook  of  her  guilt 
and  her  punishment. 

Here  again  the  infidel  sneers,  and  speaks  of  this 
as  a  trifling  crime.  Let  him  consider,  and  he  will 
find  that  it  was  a  sin  great  as  can  be  conceived.  In 
violating  this  precept  our  first  parents  defied  the 
power  of  the  Almighty,  accused  the  God  of  truth 
of  falsehood,  attempted  to  deceive  the  omniscient ; 


SERMON  X.  211 

with  a  baseness  and  ingratitude,  which  causes  us  to 
si'udder,  they  suspected  of  malice  and  envy,  Him 
who  is  love  itself,  and  who  had  crowned  them  with 
blessings,  so  numberless  and  immense.  In  the  cov- 
enant formed  with  them,  an  abstinence  from  this  tree 
was  made  the  test  of  their  allegiance  to  their  Crea- 
tor ;  by  eating  of  it  therefore,  they  rejected  him  as 
their  sovereign,  and  renounced  their  fealty  to  him. 
Looking  for  knowledge  and  felicity  elsewhere  than 
from  God,  desirous  to  be  more  independent  of  him, 
believing  Satan  in  opposition  to  him,  they  withdrew 
themselves  from  him,  and  united  themselves  to  the 
apostate  spirits.  This  crime  was  also  inconceivably 
aggravated  bv  the  advantages  which  they  possessed, 
for  knowing  and  performing  the  will  of  God,  and  by 
their  freedom  from  those  vicious  inclinations  and 
unholy  passions,  which  are  found  in  fallen  man. 

The  pleasures  of  sin  endure  but  for  a  moment. 
Soon  were  those  hopes  of  felicity  from  eating  the 
forbidden  fruit,  which  they  had  foolishly  entertained, 
blasted  forever.  In  the  cool  of  the  day,  perhaps  at 
the  period  when  they  had  been  accustomed  to  unite 
in  pouring  out  their  souls  before  God,  they  heard  the 
voice  of  the  Lord  God  walking  in  the  garden  ;"  and 
probably  some  visible  tokens  of  the  divine  presence 
were  manifested.  It  was  a  voice  which  was  familiar 
and  had  once  been  dear  to  them  ;  they  were  tokens 
which  they  had  once  welcomed  with  exulting  joy  : 


212  SERMON  X. 

but  now  that  they  know  their  nakedness,  that  they 
see  themselves  despoiled  of  their  innocence,  that 
the  blessings  of  the  covenant  are  forfeited,  and  its 
curse  incurred,  they  flee  with  confusion  and  terror, 
and  foolishly  attempt  to  conceal  themselves  from  him 
who  is  omnipresent.  But  they  are  brought  as  crimi- 
nals to  the  bar  of  their  God  :  and  what  is  here  their 
conduct  ?  Do  they  melt  into  tears  ?  Do  they  bewail 
their  transgressions  ?  Do  they  confess  their  crime 
with  humility,  and  pour  out  their  prayers  for  pardon  ? 
No ;  instead  of  this  we  behold  only  the  most  trifling 
evasions  and  subterfuges.  But  these  are  useless  ; 
they  cannot  deceive  the  Judge  of  all,  who  reads  the 
thoughts  of  the  heart ;  their  mouth,  as  will  at  the 
decisive  day  be  the  case  with  those  sinners  who 
now  like  them  plead  excuses  for  their  guilt,  was 
stopped,  and  they  were  compelled  to  stand  guilty 
before  God.  Their  body  by  their  transgression 
has  lost  its  primitive  glory,  and  has  become  subject 
to  pains,  to  disease,  and  death.  Instead  of  the 
sacred  peace  and  holiness  and  tranquillity  which 
dwelt  in  their  souls,  they  now  have  become  pollu- 
ted, estranged  from  God  ;  his  image  is  departed 
and  his  communion  is  lost ;  the  passions  once 
xiarmonious  now  render  their  souls  a  tumultuous 
field  of  battle  ;  conscience  becomes  their  foe  and 
points  to  the  eternal  misery  which  they  have  deser 
ved  ;  they  see  nothing  which  can  save  them  from 
endless  perdition.     They  stand   trembling  and  in 


SERMON  X.  213 

despair  waiting  for  their  sentence.  What  joy,  what 
gratitude  must  they  have  felt  when  they  heard  a 
promise  of  mercy  mingled  with  the  denunciations 
of  God  ;  when  they  were  pointed  to  the  seed  of  the 
woman,  to  that  blessed  Messiah  who  should  gain  a 
victory  over  their  seducer  ;  and  when  to  strength- 
en their  faith  in  him,  sacrifices  to  prefigure  h:rr\ 
were  instituted.  They  were  expelled  from  Eden  ; 
the  ground  was  cursed  for  their  sake  ;  sorrow  and 
affliction  became  their  portion  till  they  returned  to 
the  dust  from  which  they  were  taken,  and  cheru- 
bim and  a  flaming  sword  henceforth  guarded  the  ac- 
cess to  the  tree  of  life. 

The  effects  of  this  fall  of  our  first  parents  were 
not  confined  to  them,  but  are  felt  by  us.  Against 
this  it  is  vain  to  object,  for  it  is  proved  not  merely 
by  the  assertions  of  scripture,  but  by  fact  and  ex- 
perience. Are  we  not  by  nature  subject  to  misery 
and  death  ?  Are  we  not  by  nature  polluted  and  de- 
filed, with  irregular  passions  and  unholy  desires  ? 
Are  we  not  of  consequence  exposed  to  the  just 
vengeance  of  God  ?  This  we  cannot  disguise  from 
ourselves — Blessed  be  God  we  have  him  whom  the 
tree  of  life  prefigured  to  whom  we  may  have  access  ; 
around  whose  throne  there  are  no  cherubim  or  fla- 
ming sword  to  prevent  us  from  receiving  those 
merits  whereby  we  mav  live  forever. 


21.4  SERMON  X. 

How  different  was  the  remainder  of  Adam's 
life  from  its  commencement.  He  henceforth  saw 
misery  around  him  in  its  various  forms,  and  beheld 
in  the  world,  in  himself,  and  in  his  descendants,  the 
awful  consequences  of  his  transgression.  He  had 
viewed  the  earth  in  its  glory  ;  he  sees  it  in  ruins.  He 
had  beheld  man  in  the  image  of  God — he  beholds 
him  now  lying  in  the  dust. 

He  became  a  father.  Eve  immediately  exclaim- 
ed in  the  fullness  of  her  joy,  "  I  have  gotten  a 
man  from  the  Lord  ;"  or  as  perhaps  the  words 
should  rather  be  translated,  "  I  have  gotten  the 
man,  even  Jehovah  ;"  the  promised  seed,  the  pre- 
dicted Messiah.  How  many  delightful  anticipa- 
tions did  she  form.  What  felicity  did  she  expect 
to  derive  from  this  her  child.  But  like  all  other 
expectations  of  permanent  happiness  from  earthly 
objects,  they  were  blasted.  Who  can  conceive  her 
anguish  when  this  son  became  the  murderer  of  his 
brother  ;  when  she  saw  first  exemplified  in  Abei 
that  death  which  she  had  brought  into  the  world* 
Of  their  numerous  posterity  but  one  more  is  men 
tioned,  Seth  ;  in  whose  family  true  religion  wks 
preserved,  and  in  whose  line  Christ  was  born. 

Adam  lived  till  he  saw  the  world  overspread  with 
wickedness,  and  then  according  to  the  sentcne  ■• -. 
"  Dust  thou  art  and  unto  dust  thou  shalt  return  ' 


SERMON  X.  215 

sunk  into  the  tomb.  Whether  Eve  survived  him 
is  unknown.  It  is  supposed  that  they 'both,  through 
faith  in  the  promised  Messiah,  obtained  the  pardon 
of  their  sins,  and  entered  at  their  deaths  into  a  more 
glorious  Paradise  than  that  which  they  had  lost. 

This  history  teaches  us, 

1.  The  fatal  effects  of  sin,  and  presents  us  with 
the  strongest  motives  to  hate  and  flee  from  it.  It  is 
sin  which  has  inundated  our  world  with  a  deluge  of 
evils;  which  has  converted  the  garden  of  God  into  an 
Aceldama,  a  field  of  blood.  It  is  sin  which  has  de- 
graded our  race  from  the  elevated  station  which  it 
once  held  ;  which  has  effaced  the  splendid  image  of 
God,  and  exposed  us  to  his  eternal  indignation.  It  is 
sin  which  has  dug  the  abyss  of  despair  and  kindled 
the  flames  of  the  world  of  torments.  Look  around 
you  in  the  world  ;  behold  the  infinitely  varied  afflic- 
tions of  body  and  of  mind  "  that  man  is  heir  to;"  col- 
lect in  oue  mighty  mass  all  the  groans  that  have  been 
littered,  all  the  te-rs  that  have  been  shed,  all  the 
anguish  that  has  been  felt  from  the  fall  of  Adam  to 
the  present  time  :  unveil  the  depths  of  the  human 
heart,  and  consider  what  loathsome  spectacles  it  has 
presented  to  a  holy  God ;  stand  by  the  beds  of  the 
departing,  and  mark  the  terrors  of  their  souls  and 
the  agonies  of  their  bodies ;  enter  the  repositories  of 
the  dead,  and  behold  the  worm  and  putrefaction 
preying  on  the  mouldering  carcase;  descend  in  ima- 


216  SERMON  X. 

gination  to  the  abode  of  the  accursed,  and  bciiold 
there  "  the  fire  that  never  will  be  quenched,"  and 
the  thunders  of  divine  indignation  which  burst  upon 
these  devoted  men  :  and  then  say  to  yourself — All 
this,  inconceivably  more  than  this,  is  the  effect  of 
sin.  And  will  you  still  love  this  murderer,  this  mur- 
derer of  two  lives  at  once  ?  Will  you  still  cherish  it 
and  give  it  a  residence  in  your  heart  ? 

2.  This  history  directs  us  to  the  only  Redeemer 
from  sin,  and  points  us  to  the  second  Adam,  the 
Lord  from  heaven,  the  promised  seed  of  the  woman, 
as  the  only  refuge  of  the  guilty. — Mercy  and  for- 
giveness were  proclaimed  to  our  fallen  parents,  not 
in  consequence  of  their  sorrow  and  tears ;  not  in 
consequence  of  their  resolutions  to  live  in  future 
devoted  to  God — Alas  !  these  could  not  satisfy  the 
broken  law ;  these  could  not  atone  to  the  violated 
holiness  of  God,  Resting  on  these  alone  our  pro- 
genitors must  have  been  undone  forever.  But  par- 
don was  proclaimed  through  the  eternal  Son,  who 
then  was  promised,  and  the  effusion  of  whose  blood 
was  thus  early  typified  by  that  of  the  sacrificed  vic- 
tim which  prefigured  him.  Neither  Adam,  nor  a 
single  one  of  his  descendants,  ever  obtained  salva- 
tion, except  through  him.  Like  the  sun  which  en- 
lightens both  the  stars  above  it  and  the  earth  beneath 
it,  his  merits  extend  backward  to  the  fall  of  man? 
and  forward  to  the  consummation  of  all  things. — 
Behold  then,  fallen  man,  thine  only  hope;    the 


SERMON  X.  „17 

promise  made  in  Paradise  has  been  fulfilled — the 
seed  of  the  woman  has  come — "  His  heel  has  been 
bruised :"  He  suffered,  he  agonised,  he  bled  for 
man,  for  thee :  in  him  place  all  thy  confidence : 
away  with  the  fig-leaves  of  thine  own  righteousness : 
seek  to  be  covered  by  his  atonement.  Flee  from 
that  covenant  which  can  no  longer  profit  you  :  Put 
your  soul  under  the  bonds  of  that  better  covenant 
which  offers  you  a  Paradise,  into  which  satan 
never  can  enter  ;  from  which  all  the  strength  of  the 
Godhead,  all  the  stability  of  the  covenant,  all  the 
faithfulness  of  the  promises,  all  the  merits  of  Christ, 
are  engaged  to  prevent  you  from  falling, 

S.^This  history  teaches  us  to  avoid  the  first  se- 
ductions to  sin.  Had  Eve  boldly  and  resolutely  re- 
pulsed the  tempter  when  he  first  approached,  he 
would  have  fled  from  her  !  when  she  consented  to 
listen  to  his  reasonings  and  persuasions,  she  was 
already  half  undone.  My  brethren,  he  still  tempts 
us  in  the  same  manner  as  he  did  Eve  ;  he  still  en 
deavours  to  excite  hard  thoughts  of  God  and  his 
commandments  ;  to  lull  us  to  rest'  with  hopes  of 
impunity,  notwithstanding  the  most  solemn  decla- 
rations of  the  Lord  ;  to  lead  us  to  trust  in  our 
selves  ;  to  seduce  us  to  unbelief ;  to  give  us  exag- 
gerated ideas  of  the  value  of  sensual  pleasure  ;  to 
make  us  discontented  with  the  state  in  which  God 
has  placed  us.  In  such  circumstances  what  docs 
prudence,  what  docs  on'- interest,  what  docs  r'eliJ. 


218  SERMON  X. 

gion  demand  of  us  ?    Shall  we  dally  with  the  temp- 
tation?    Shall  we   tamper  with  the  adversary   of 
our   souls  ?     Shall   we  gaze   upon  the  forbidden 
fruits  to  which  he  directs  our  attention,  thinking 
that  at  any  time  we  can  withdraw  our  eyes  ?    Ah  I 
my  brethren,  if  we  act  thus  he   will  insensibly  lead 
us  to  pluck  and  eat :    If  we  do  not  oppose  the  be* 
ginnings  of  evil,  we  are  undone.     For  the  proof  of 
this  I  appeal  to  the  most  hardened  and  profligate 
sinner  among  you.     Time  has  been  that  you  would 
have  shuddered  if  you  had  thought  it  possible  that 
you  should  ever  advance  so  far  in  the  paths  of  sin 
as  you  have   done.       Time  has  been  when  you 
would    have  replied  to  one  predicting  that  your 
character  would  be  what  it  now  is,  in  the  indignant 
language  of  Hazael — "  Is  thy  servant  a  dog  that  he 
should  do  these  things  ?"  Yet  you  have  thus  far 
advanced  in  sin  ;  you  have  become  that  character 
■which    you   could   not    consider    without   horror. 
And  how  have  you  been  led  to  this  eminence  in 
guilt  ?  By  rapid  and  gigantic  strides  ?    No  :    Insen- 
sibly and  by  degrees.    Satan  spread  his  bait  before 
you  ;  you  gazed  upon  it  at  first  with  apprehension  ; 
you  shortly  became  enamoured  with  its  imposing 
but  deceptive  charms  ;  you   began  to  wish  that  it 
were  lawful ;  your  desires  duped  your  judgment, 
and  you  concluded  that  you  might  indulge  in  it 
once  :  After  this  indulgence,  your  conscience  was 
at  first  alarmed,  and  you  resolved  to  offend  no  more, 
But  the  temptation  was  again  presented,  and  you 


SERMON  X.  219 

had  not  learned  wisdom  from  the  past.  You  passed 
round  the  same  circle ;  you  were  again  lured  to 
the  edge  of  the  precipice  and  thrust  down  it.  A 
habit  of  sinning  was  formed  ;  sonscience  became 
stupified ;  the  fetters  of  satan  were  every  day  en- 
twining you  more  and  more  securely,  till  at  last 
you  had  not  even  the  faintest  desire  to  be  liberated 
from  his  disgraceful  vassalage.  Oh  !  my  brethren, 
if  we  could  peruse  the  records  of  hell,  how  many 
thousands  would  we  find  who  might  serve  as  the 
originals  of  this  picture  !  Let  me  then  again  conjure 
you,  as  you  value  your  own  souls,  to  trifle  not  with 
temptation  :  say  not  that  you  will  advance  a  certain 
distance  into  the  territories  of  satan  and  then  return  : 
the  experience  of  millions  proves  the  folly  and  the 
peril  of  such  an  attempt.  "  Your  adversary,  the 
devil,  goeth  about  as  a  roaring  lion,  seeking  whom 
he  may  devour  v  be  therefore  sober,  be  vigilant," 
resist  him  immediately,  "  lest  he  beguile  you  through 
his  subtlety."  And  remember  too,  that  he  is  not 
your  only  tempter.  If  Eve  fell  through  his  seduc- 
tions, Adam  was  ensnared  by  her  blandishments  : 
such  trials  (and  they  are  severe  ones)  you  may 
meet  with.  Those  who  are  connected  to  you  by 
blood  or  affection,  may  endeavor  to  seduce  you  from 
the  ways  of  God  :  listen  not  to  them  :  let  the 
authority  of  God  be  paramount  in  your  soul.  Be 
ready  to  lay  down  every  thing  as  a  sacrifice,  and 
reject  it  as  a  snare  when  it  comes  in  competition 
with  your  duty  to  him. 


220  SERMON  X. 

4.  This  history  teaches  us  the  dangerous  error  of 
these  men  who  suppose  that  they  are  acceptable  to 
God,  merely  because  they  discharge  the  moral  and 
social  duties.  None  of  these  were  violated  by 
Adam,  yet  he  fell  under  the  sentence  of  condemna- 
tion. Your  religion  (if  I  may  call  it  a  religion) 
might  appear  reasonable,  if  there  were  no  God  to 
whom  you  sustained  important  relations,  and  if 
there  were  no  future  world  for  which  you  were 
bound  to  prepare.  But  since  there  is  a  God  and 
a  futurity,  it  is  the  extreme  of  folly  to  rest  on 
those  hopes  on  which  you  lean.  "  You  shall  have 
your  reward"  in  the  esteem,  the  approbation  and 
love  of  your  fellow-men  whom  you  benefit :  but 
expect  not  the  approbation  of  that  God  "  who  is  not 
in  all  your  thoughts."  The  young  ruler  in  the 
gospel  was  as  moral  as  you,  yet  he  was  not  esteem- 
ed by  the  Saviour  one  of  his  disciples. 

5.  Finally,  my  brethren,  let  us  all  be  led  by  this 
history  to  examine  ourselves.  Let  us  listen  to  the 
voice  of  God  crying  to  us,  "  Where  art  thou  ?" 
We  were  all  born  in  the  image  of  corrupted  and 
fallen  Adam,  exposed  to  the  curses  of  that  covenant 
which  he  violated  :  have  we  been  also  "  created  in 
Christ  Jesus  to  good  works?"  Have  the  lineaments 
of  "  the  second  Adam,  the  Lord  from  heaven," 
been  impressed  upon  our  soul  ?  Have  we  from  the 
depth  of  our  misery  looked  with  faith  and  love  to 
him  who  "  came  to  destroy  the  works  of  the  devil  ?" 


SERMON  X.  221 

If  we  have  not,  in  vain  do  we  hope  to  enter  into  the 
Paradise  of  God.  Satan  may  whisper  to  us,  as  he 
did  to  our  first  parents,  "  Ye  shall  not  die ;"  but 
neither  his  assurances,  nor  our  confident  expecta- 
tions of  felicity,  shall  be  able  to  avert  from  us  the 
stroke  of  death,  everlasting  death. 


H 


SERMON  XI. 

CAIN  AND  ABEL. 

Genesis  iv.  1 — 17. 


IN  the  last  discourse  we  contemplated  the 
earth  in  its  original  glory,  and  afterwards  despoiled 
of  its  beauty  by  sin  :  We  beheld  man  formed  in  the 
image  of  God,  and  saw  him  afterwards  deprived  of 
this  image  and  sunk  in  that  abyss  of  guilt  and 
wretchedness,  from  which  he  could  be  raised  only 
by  the  grace  of  God.  This  grace  was  extended  to 
him.  Instead  of  that  violated  covenant  which  now 
spake  nothing  but  indignation  and  wrath  against  our 
great  progenitors,  they  were  admitted  into  a  new 
and  better  covenant,  which  was  confirmed  by  sig- 
nificant rites,  and  which  included  the  promise  of 
salvation  through  a  Redeemer.  In  the  present  dis 
course  we  shall  see  in  the  history  of  the  two  first- 
born among  men,  an  image  of  what  we  still  behold 
upon  earth,  where  some  rt  through  an  evil  heart  of 
unbelief  depart  from  the  living  God,"  and  refuse  to 
accept  the  offers  of  mercy  made  through  the  blood 
of  Jesus  ;  whilst  others  fiee  to  his  grace  as  their  only 
refuge  and  sanctuary.  We  shall  see  the  commence- 
ment of  that  combat  which  still  continues  between 
"  the  seed  of  the  woman  and  the  seed  of  the  serpent," 


SERMON  XL  223 

the  pious  and  the  ungodly  ;  the  former  fighting-  un- 
der the  standard  of  the  Redeemer  and  with  the  ar- 
mour of  righteousness  ;  the  latter  endeavouring  by 
every  method,  however  unjustifiable,  by  secret  arts 
and  open  violence,  to  injure  the  cause  and  the  people 
of  God. 

To  our  first  parents  expelled  from  Eden,  some 
consolation  was  communicated  on  the  birth  of  their 
eldest  son.  Parental  hopes  and  joys  were  then  for 
the  first  time  exercised  upon  the  earth ;  and  they 
were  exercised  with  the  greater  force,  because  ex- 
perience had  not  then  shewn  how  often  these  hopes 
are  blasted,  and  these  joys  withered  forever.  "  I 
have  gotten,"  exclaims  the  exulting  mother,  "  a  mar* 
from  the  Lord."  She  formed,  no  doubt,  a  thousand 
tender  anticipations:  She  looked  forward  to  the 
time  when  he  would  be  adorned  with  every  virtue  ; 
when  he  would  be  beloved  by  God,  and  by  those 
who  should  afterwards  be  born  in  the  earth  ;  when 
his  affection  and  cares  would  cheer  her  declining- 
years  ;  when  he  would  watch  by  her  in  her  closinp 
hours,  smooth  for  her  the  pillow  of  sickness  and  of 
pain,  and  receive  her  last  sigh.  Her  hopes  were 
still  more  elevated  if  we  translate  her  exclamation, 
as  it  may  and  perhaps  should  be  translated,  "  I  have 
gotten  the  man,  even  Jehovah,"  the  promised  seed, 
the  predicted  deliverer.  She  imagined  perhaps  that 
this,  her  child,  would  restore  her  to  a  felicity  greater 
than  that  which  she  had  forfeited  by  her  sin  ;  that 

\  G  G 


224  SERMON  XL 

he  would  introduce  her  to  a  more  blissful  Eden  than 
that  in  which  she  had  first  opened  her  eyes  upon 
the  works  of  God  ;  that  he  would  banish  every  grief 
from  her  heart,  and  wipe  every  tear  from  her  eye, 
and  re- impress  upon  her  the  image  of  the  Highest. 
To  express  her  joys  and  expectations  she  called  him 
Cain,  a  word  signifying  a  possession  or  acquisition 
that  is  highly  valued.  (Deut.  xxxii.  6.  Prov. 
viii.  22.) 

Alas!  how  dearly  was  she  afterwards  taught  the 
vanity  of  earthly  expectations  !  With  what  unutter- 
able anguish  did  this  son  whom  she  prest  to  her 
bosom  with  so  much  extaey,  wring  her  heart !  How 
did  he  teach  her  the  danger  of  making  to  ourselves 
an  earthly  idol,  and  suffering  any  thing  below  the 
skies  to  entwine  too  closely  around  our  hearts !  How 
did  his  conduct  warn  her  to  wait  for  the  season  ap- 
pointed by  God  for  the  fulfilment  of  his  promises  ; 
•and  to  avoid  hasty  expectations,  lest  instead  of  a 
blessing,  we  embrace  a  curse. 

She  again  became  a  mother.  But  on  this  se- 
cond son  she  appears  to  have  fixed  less  sanguine 
expectations,  and  he  seems  to  have  engaged  a 
smaller  share  of  her  affections;  she  therefore  cal- 
led his  name  Abel,  or  vanity.  Ah !  my  brethren, 
who  of  us  has  not  found  that  those  things  which 
we  most  highly  esteem,  become  often  the  sources 
of  our  deepest  anguish  ;  that  our  bitterest  woes  often 


SERMON  XI.  225 

spring  from  the  bosom  of  what  we  regard  as  our 
dearest  "  acquisition  .•"  and  on  the  contrary,  that 
those  things  and  persons  on  which  we  write  "  vani- 
ty" which  hold  but  a  small  rank  in  our  estimation, 
are  highly  favoured  by  God,  and  deserve  the  greatest 
affection  from  us. 

The  occupations  of  these  brethren  were  different; 
the  elder  was  a  husbandman,  the  younger  a  shepherd. 
They  were  not  on  this  account  differently  esteemed 
by  God:  he  "is  no  respecter  of  persons."  In 
every  profession,  except  those  which  are  in  them- 
selves unlawful,  he  has  his  faithful  worshippers,  the 
objects  of  his  special  love.  Cain  and  Abel  differed 
in  a  more  important  point ;  Cain  was  envious, 
malignant,  unbelieving,  self-righteous,  a  haughty 
despiser  of  salvation  by  faith  in  the  promised  seed, 
and  not  by  his  own  works.  Abel  was  an  humble 
believing  worshipper  in  the  way  which  God  had  ap- 
pointed ;  and  we  are  told  by  the  Redeemer  himself, 
that  he  was  "  righteous."  Perhaps  the  furious  pas- 
sions and  envious  dispositions  of  Cain  were  cherish- 
ed by  the  criminal  partiality  of  his  parents,  consider- 
ing him  as  a  possession  and  his  brother  as  vanity  ; 
and  by  being  led  to  suppose  that  the  special  favour 
of  God  was  due  to  him  as  his  birth-right.  Parents, 
as  you  value  your  own  felicity  and  that  of  your  off- 
spring, avoid  all  such  invidious  distinctions  between 
your  children :  let  this  affecting  history  which  we 
are  considering,  let  the  anguish  which  flowed  from 


226  SERMON  XL 

this  source  in  the  family  of  Jacob,  serve  as  beacons 
warning  you  to  avoid  this  dangerous  errour.  Chris- 
tians, observe  in  these  two  brethren  the  sovereignty 
of  divine  grace — "  One  is  taken  and  the  other  left." 
Isaac,  in  like  manner,  had  but  two  sons,  and  one  of 
them  is  a  reprobate.  There  are  but  few  families 
like  that  which  dwelt  in  Bethany,  all  of  whom  love 
and  are  beloved  by  the  Redeemer  :  there  are  many 
where  the  ties  of  blood  are  the  only  uniting  princi- 
ple ;  where  there  is  no  affection  formed  for  eternity. 
Are  there  any  who  hear  me  whose  families  through 
the  grace  of  God  are  different ;  who  can  all  kneel 
together  before  a  common  Father ;  who  have  all  been 
washed  by  the  blood  of  a  common  Saviour ;  and  who 
anticipate  a  common  heaven.  Happy  indeed  are 
ye  !  Ye  only  know  all  the  energy  of  friendship  and 
affection,  since  in  you  they  are  strengthened  by  the 
common  Spirit  residing  in  you,  and  augmented  by 
the  fervours  of  united  devotion.  Are  there  any  per- 
sons who  like  Abel,  in  viewing  their  nearest  con- 
nections, see  them  the  enemies  of  God  and  good- 
ness, and  who  weep  when  they  consider  the  impass- 
ible ^ulph  that  must  shortly  separate  them  from 
those  to  whom  they  are  united  on  earth  ?  Your  trial 
is  severe,  but  it  is  not  peculiar  to  you.  The  wounds 
of  your  soul  are  deeper  because  the  arrows  that  pierce 
it  are  dipped  in  poison  by  the  hand  of  those  you  love : 
but  the  pain  of  these  wounds  can  be  assuaged  by  the 
balm  of  Gilead ;  these  tortured  souls  can  be  healed 
bv  the  heavenly  Physician.     You  tread  in  a  path  in 


SERMON  XL  227 

which  you  may  trace  the  footsteps  of  thousands  who 
are  in  glory.  The  God  who  guided  them  can  con- 
duct you  to  that  world  where  all  tears  shall  be  wiped 
from  your  eyes,  where  you  shall  be  surrounded  by 
none  but  the  holy. 

The  difference  of  character  in  these  two  brethren 
was  displayed  in  the  first  acts  of  worship  which  are 
mentioned  in  the  scriptures.  "  In  process  of  time," 
or,  "  at  the  end  of  days,"  probably  on  the  sabbath 
day,  they  both  came  to  present  their  offerings  to  the 
Lord.  Behold  in  them  a  spectacle  which  is  still 
constantly  exhibited  to  us :  still  the  unholy  and 
the  pious  appear  together  before  God,  engage  in  the 
same  religious  exercises,  and  perform  the  same  acts 
of  outward  devotion.  We  all,  my  brethren,  ex- 
ternally unite  in  offering  up  our  supplications  to  the 
Lord,  in  singing  his  praises,  and  in  listening  to  his 
word  ;  but  does  not  God  who  tries  our  hearts,  see 
among  us  more  than  one  Cain  whose  sacrifice  is  not 
offered  with  holy  dispositions  ?  Are  there  none  of 
us  who  "  have  drawn  near  to  God  with  our  lips 
while  our  hearts  have  been  far  from  him  ;"  whose 
worship  lias  been  that  of  the  body,  and  not  of  the 
soul  ?  Let  such  formal  worshippers  see  in  Cain 
what  is  their  character,  and  in  what  estimation  the 
Lord  holds  that  worship  which  is  merely  external* 

Not  only  the  dispositions  of  soul,  but  the  offer- 
ings also  of  the  two  brethren  were  different,    "  Cain 


228  SERMON  XI. 

brought  of  the  fruits  of  the  ground  a  mincha  to  Je- 
hovah, and  Abel  brought  a  mincha  ;  he  also  brought 
of  the  firstlings  of  the  flock  and  of  the  fattest  of 
them.  And  Jehovah  had  respect  to  Abel  and  his 
mincha  ;  but  to  Cain  and  his  mincha  he  had  no  res-i 
pert."  In  this  manner  the  verses  containing  an  ac- 
count of  this  transaction  should  be  translated,*  and 
they  then  afford  us  the  reason  of  the  acceptance  of 
the  one  and  the  rejection  of  the  other.  Cain  present- 
ed the  minc/iaf  or  thank-offering  of  things  inanimate, 
by  which  he  acknowledged  God  to  be  his  creator 
and  preserver :  this  same  offering  was  also  present- 
ed by  Abel.  Nothing  else  would  have  been  re- 
quisite had  man  continued  in  the  state  of  inno- 
cence ;  to  enjoy  and  to  be  grateful  would  have  been 
all  his  duty  :  but  he  was  now  a  polluted  sinner  over 
whom  the  curses  of  a  broken  law  impended,  who 
was  exposed  to  eternal  death,  and  for  whom  there 
was  no  hope  except  in  the  grace  of  God  through  the 
promised  Redeemer.  Sensible  of  this,  believing  in 
Messiah  who  was  to  come,  and  complying  with  the 
institutions  of  God,  Abel  offered  up  a  bloody  sacri- 
fice, the  firstlings  of  his  flock,  for  a  sin-offering; 
thereby  acknowledging  his  guilt,  his  need  of  an 
atonement,  and  his  faith  in  that  Lamb  of  God  slain 

*  See  Kennicott's  Two  Dissertations. 

t  It  consisted  of  fine  f?onr,  mingled  with  oil  and  frankincense, 
L?7.  :'  . 


SERMON  XL  229 

in  the  counsels  of  the  Father  before  the  foundation 
of  the  world.  Cain,  feeling  no  sense  of  sin,  nor  of 
his  need  of  a  Saviour,  scarcely  believing  in  the  pro- 
mised Messiah,  and  despising  the  blessings  of  that 
new  covenant  which  was  ratified  with  his  blood,  with- 
held the  victim  intended  to  prefigure  him.  It  is 
through  the  Redeemer  alone  that  the  services  of 
sinners  can  be  accepted  by  a  Holy  God.  No  won- 
der then  that  while  he  "  testified  of  the  gifts*  of 
Abel,  he  rejected  the  sacrifice  of  the  unhumbled  and 
unbelieving  Cain,  who  still  clung  to  the  covenant  of 
works,  and  "  going  about  to  establish  his  own  righ- 
teousness, would  not  submit  to  the  righteousness  of 
God,  nor  look  to  Christ  as  the  end  of  the  law  for 
righteousness  to  every  one  that  believeth,"  (Rom, 
X.  3,  4.) 

We  are  not  informed  in  what  manner  the  appro- 
bation of  God  was  expressed ;  but  from  other  parts 
of  the  scripture  we  may  conclude  that  it  was  by 
consuming  the  sacrifice  of  Abel  with  fire  from  hea- 
ven '*  as  m  tne  case  °f  Aaron  when  after  his  conse- 
cration to  the  high-priesthood  he  first  offered  for 
himself  and  the  people ;  (Lev.  ii.  24.)  In  that  of 
Gideon  when  God  shewed  that  he  had  chosen  him  as 
the  deliverer  of  Israel  from  the  Midianites ;  (Judg. 
V2.  21.)  In  that  of  David  when  the  pestilence  ceased ; 

t  Dorois,  both  the  mincha;ra<J  sin-offering-. 


230  SERMON  XL 

(1  Chron.  xxi.  26.)  In  that  of  Solomon  at  the  ded^ 
ication  of  the  temple  ;  (2  Chr.  vii.  1.)  and  in  that 
of  Elijah  when  Jehovah  displayed  his  superiority 
over  Baal;  (1  Kings  xviii.  38.) 

Let  all  the  self-righteous  look  at  Cain,  and  behold 
their  character  and  their  doom.  The  unregenerate, 
through  ignorance,  through  enmity,  and  through 
pride,  like  him  cling  to  the  first  covenant ;  are  un- 
willing to  submit  to  the  self-abasing  terms  of  the 
gospel,  and  in  the  character  of  helpless  and  polluted 
sinners  to  receive  salvation  as  the  free  gift  of  God 
through  Christ.  So  prone  is  fallen  man  to  rely  on 
that  covenant  which  cannot  profit  him,  that  God  ex- 
pelled him  from  the  garden  lest  he  should  still  seek 
righteousness  and  life  by  that  tree  appointed  as  the 
seal  of  this  covenant,  and  the  sacrament  of  that  life 
which  it  promised.  But  notwithstanding  this,  not- 
withstanding cherubim  and  a  flaming  sword  were 
placed  around  it  to  cut  ofF  all  our  hopes,  we  still  by 
nature  seek  righteousness  by  the  works  of  the  law ; 
and  when  driven  from  this  hold,  we  as  foolishly  en- 
deavour to  unite  the  two  covenants  together.  My 
brethren,  unless  this  temper  of  Cain,  this  pharisai- 
cal  spirit  be  destroyed  ;  unless  we  be  brought  to  de- 
pend simply  and  entirely  upon  the  Redeemer,  we 
in  vain  hope  for  salvation. 


SERMON  XI.  23* 

What  were  the  sentiments  excited  in  the  bosom 
of  Cain,  by  the  rejection  of  his  sacrifice,  and  the  ac- 
ceptance of  that  of  Abel?  Was  he  not  humbled  in 
the  dust  at  his  unworthiness  and  guilt  ?  Did  he  not 
diligently  enquire  into  the  cause  of  the  rejection  of 
his  offering,  that  he  might  in  future  avoid  it  ? — « 
Though  his  offering  was  not  accepted,  yet  did  he 
not  rejoice  at  the  proof  given  by  the  acceptance  of 
his  brother's,  that  God  would  receive  the  service;, 
of  sinners  when  presented  with  proper  dispositions  t 
Was  not  his  love  and  esteem  for  his  brother  encreas- 
ed  by  seeing  the  superior  piety  of  Abel,  and  the 
favour  which  God  bestowed  upon  him  ?  No  :  "  hh 
eye  was  evil,  because  God  was  good."  The  graces- 
and  the  privileges  of  Abel  filled  him  with  envy  and 
discontent ;  and  resentment  against  his  brother  and 
his  God  agitated  his  heart  and  imprinted  their  traces 
on  his  countenance.  "  He  was  very  wroth  and  hip* 
countenance  fell."  How  opposite  is  his  conduct  to 
that  of  a  believer.  There  are  times  when  the  chris- 
tian has  no  tokens  of  acceptance,  and  no  sensible 
comfort  or  joy  in  the  discharge  of  duty  ;  does  he 
therefore  with  Cain  quarrel  with  his  Maker,  and  har- 
bour resentment  against  those  who  are  rejoicing  in 
the  assurance  of  their  acceptance,  and  in  the  light  of 
God's  countenance  ?  Does  he  with  those  cmiltv 
men  described  by  Isaiah,  say  to  the  Almighty, 
"  Wherefore  have  we  fasted,  and  thou  seest  not  V* 
(Is.  lviii.  5.)  Oh  no !  With  diligence  and  hu- 
mility he  seeks  what  lias  interposed  between  him 

H  H 


232      *  SERMON  XL 

and  God;  with  penitence  he  cries,  tk  Shew  mc 
wherefore  thou  contendest  with  me  ;"  with  con- 
stancy  he  perseveres,  like  the  Canaanitish  woman 
in  the  midst  of  her  discouragements,  or  like  Paul 
when  he  thrice  besought  the  Lord  before  he  was  an- 
swered :  he  besieges  the  throne  of  grace  with  sup- 
plications, till  he  has  obtained  the  blessing. 

The  Lord  exercises  towards  Cain  his  patience 
and  long-suffering  :  instead  of  immediately  pun- 
ishing, he  condescends  to  expostulate.  He  points 
out  to  Cain  the  unreasonableness  of  his  anger  :  he 
exhorts  him  to  subdue  his  resentment,  and  check 
his  criminal  passions  :  he  declares  that  he  also  shall 
be  accepted,  if  he  exercise  the  same  faith,  humility, 
and  sincerity  as  Abel :  that  without  repentance,  his 
sin  must  expose  him  to  punishment ;  and  that  Abel 
entertained  a  cordial  affection  for  him,  and  in  all 
temporal  matters  was  still  his  inferior.  M  And  the 
Lord  said  unto  Cain,  why  art  thou  wroth,  and  why 
is  thy  countenance  fallen  ?  If  thou  doest  well,  shall 
thou  not  be  accepted ;  and  if  thou  doest  not  well, 
sin  lieth  at  the  door.  And  unto  thee  shall  be  his 
desire,  and  thou  shalt  rule  over  him." 

How  hard  must  have  been  that  heart  which  this 
mild  remonstrance  could  not  melt :  but  Cain  con- 
tinued insensible.  No  motives,  however  tender,  no 
barriers,  however  sacred,  can  restrain  the  ungodly 
man  when  his  passions  are   once  excited.    Burn- 


SERMON  XI.  233 

ing  with  rage,  corroded  with  envy,  desirous  of  ac- 
quiring a  pre-eminence  without  any  competitor  on 
earth,  Cain  became  the  murderer  of  his  brother  ;  of 
a  brother  to  whom  his  heart  ought  to  have  been 
open,  for  whom  he  ought  to  have  felt  the  tenderest 
love,  but  whom  he  could  not  endure,  because  the 
holiness  of  his  life  was  a  perpetual  reproach  to  him- 
self, and  because  he  had  received  special  marks  of 
the  divine  approbation.  Then  Death  secured  his 
first  victim  among  mortals  ;  then  a  more  painful 
wound  than  that  of  Abel  was  inflicted  on  the  hearts 
of  our  first  parents,  when  they  considered  that  by 
them  death  came  into  the  world  :  then  were  all 
those  hopes  of  happiness  from  Cain  which  they  had 
so  fondly  indulged,  prostrated  in  the  dust ;  then 
was  the  first  redeemed  sinner  admitted  into  heaven  : 
whilst  the  everlasting  doors  were  opened  and  the 
eternal  gates  expanded  to  receive  this  son  of  Adam, 
this  first-fruits  of  the  sacrifice  of  Jesus,  this  leader 
of  the  "  noble  army  of  martyrs,"  new  hallelujahs, 
louder  accents  of  praise,  of  adoring  wonder,  and  joy, 
fell  from  the  harps  of  the  heavenly  hosts. 

Christians,  why  should  we  tremble  at  death  ;  it 
is  converted  into  a  friend,  and  it  came  first  to  visit 
the  favourite  of  heaven.  Believers,  let  the  bleeding 
body  of  Abel  teach  you  not  to  expect  your  happi- 
ness below  ;  you  are  members  of  that  church  whose 
:;ymbol  is  the  cross ;  you  are  followers  of  that  Sa- 
viour who  was  the  man  of  sorrows  ;  vou  are  tend- 


234  SERMON  XL 

ing  to  that  World  where  "  those  who  have  washed 
their  robes  and  made  them  white  in  the  blood  of  the 
Lamb,  have  come  out  of  great  tribulation. "  Per- 
secutions you  will  meet  with  :  be  careful  that  like 
Abel  religion  be  your  only  crime.  Persecutors  of 
the  cause  or  children  of  God,  whether  by  open  vio- 
lence, by  secret  insinuations,  by  reproaches  or  by 
scoffs,  behold  in  Cain  your  archetype  :  his  mark  is 
"xed  upon  your  forehead,  his  disposition  rankles  in 
your  hearts. 

The  Lord  saw  and  came  to  punish  this  murder  : 
this  blood  cried  to  him  for  vengeance,  and  its  voice 
was  heard.  To  the  question  which  he  proposes  to 
the  murderer,  "  Where  is  Abel  thy  brother,"  Cain, 
hardened  by  sin,  replies  with  impiety,  with  insolence 
and  falsehood.  But  in  vain  is  the  attempt  to  de- 
ceive the  Omniscient,  and  foolish  is  the  expectation 
of  impunity  with  the  holy  God,  for  those  sins  of 
which  we  have  not  repented.  The  Lord  displays 
to  him  the  honour  of  his  crime,  and  represents  all 
nature  as  ready  to  become  the  instrument  of  divine 
vengeance  against  him.  The  ground  which  Cain 
cultivates  is  cursed  with  a  new  degree  of  barrenness : 
he  is  obliged  to  depart  from  the  society  of  his  friends 
and  parents,  and  from  the  place  where  God  more 
immediately  manifested  his  presence,  and  to  wan- 
der  upon  the  earth,  forlorn  and  detested  by  men, 
and  abandoned  by  God.     So  surely  is  sin,  by  the 


SERMON  XL  235 

wise  appointment  of  God,   inseparably  linked  to 
sorrow  both  in  this  world  and  that  which  is  to  come. 

Not  softened  to  repentance,  but  full  of  terrour,  he 
cries  out  "  My  punishment  is  greater  than  I  can 
bear."  How  frequent  are  these  horrours  of  soul  in 
those  who  are  still  impenitent,  and  how  awfully  are 
they  deceived,  who  suppose  that  they  are  the  children 
©f  God,  because  they  have  felt  them  in  a  high  de- 
gree. Read  the  history  of  the  Old  Testament  and 
the  New,  and  you  will  find  that  they  have  been  ex- 
perienced by  the  greatest  enemies  of  God.  What 
could  exceed  the  anguish  of  Cain  ;  what  the  quak- 
ings  of  the  soul  of  Ahab  ;  what  the  agony  of  Judas, 
which  was  so  intolerable  as  "  to  make  him  flee  to 
hell  as  a  release,  and  embrace  damnation  as  a  re- 
fuge." And  in  the  world  of  torments  how  awful 
are  the  terrours  of  the  Lord  which  rest  upon  the 
souls  of  the  accursed  ;  how  painful  the  '*  arrows  of 
the  Almighty  which  drink  up  their  spirits."  Woe 
then,  I  repeat  it,  to  those  who  are  resting  in  securi- 
ty, because  they  have  been  agitated  and  alarmed  at 
the  view  of  their  sins  and  of  the  punishment  which 
awaited  them.  How  different  are  these  exercises 
from  those  of  real  believers.  They  regard  princi- 
pally the  guilt  of  their  sin  and  not  the  weight  of  thai 
misery  which  will  follow  them.  While  Cain  cries, 
"  My  punishment,"  not  my  guilt,  "  is  greater  than 
I  can  bear  ;"  while  Pharoah  exclaims,  "  Remove 
this  plague,"  not  this  hard-heartedness,  "  from  me;'* 


'236  SERMON  XI. 

the  penitent  David  cries,  "  My  sin,"  not  thy  veil- , 
geance,  "  is  ever  before  me  ;"  the  returning  prodi- 
gal says,"  I  have  sinned  against  heaven  and  in  thy 
sight,"  not,  I  have  been  starving  in  a  distant  land. 
Real  penitence  drives  the  soul  to  God  ;  these  slav- 
ish terrours  cause  it  to  flee  from  him.  Peter's  hear- 
ers when  truly  alarmed,  turn  to  the  Redeemer ; 
Cain  seeks  by  employing  himself  in  earthly  occu- 
pations  to  lose  these  painful  impressions. 

Cain  expresses  his  apprehension  that  every  one 
that  meeteth  him  will  kill  him  as  a  common  pest> 
dangerous  and  unworthy  to  live.  But  he  was  to  be 
preserved  alive  as  a  memorial  to  others  of  God's 
knowledge  of  our  most  secret  sins,  and  of  his  reso- 
lution to  punish  them,  and  as  a  monument  of  that 
misery  which  must  ever  attend  guilt.  The  Lord 
therefore  gave  him  a  token  that  his  life  should  not 
be  taken  from  him  by  violence.  "  He  went  out 
from  the  presence  of  the  Lord,"  from  the  place 
where  he  manifested  himself,  and  retired  to  the  land 
of  Nod  ;  where  neglecting  all  the  ordinances  of  reli- 
gion, he  became  probably  more  and  more  corrupt. 
As  his  descendants  increased,  he  built  a  city,  which 
from  his  son,  he  called  Enoch.  Here  his  posterity 
resided  till  the  flood.  They  were  celebrated  for  the 
useful,  ingenious,  and  elegant  arts  :  Instruments  of 
violence  were  in  their  hands  ;  the  harp  and  the  pipe 
were  at  their  feasts  :  abroad  they  were  rapacious 
and  violent ;  at  home  they  were  luxurious  and  de~ 


SERMON  XI.  237 

praved.  In  reading  the  list  of  them,  we  in  vain 
seek  to  discover  an  individual  who  was  a  faithful 
servant  of  God.  How  poor,  how  miserable  were 
they,  notwithstanding  their  arts  and  pleasures  ! 

We  have,  in  the  prosecution  of  this  discourse, 
presented  to  you  most  of  the  practical  lessons  con- 
nected with  this  history — Let  us  however,  before 
we  conclude,  remark 

1.  How  inconceivably  great  may  be  the  effect  of 
an  unholy  parent's  example.  Who  can  calculate 
how  many  of  the  descendants  of  Cain  were  lost 
through  his  impiety  !  Criminal  father,  ungodly  mo- 
ther, who  can  tell  how  many  thousand  souls  may  in 
the  day  of  judgment  execrate  thee  as  the  author  of 
their  perdition,  and  imprecate  the  vengeance  of  the 
Almighty  upon  thee.  Corrupting  by  thine  exam- 
ple thine  immediate  descendants,  they  may  eommu 
nicate  the  infection  to  theirs,  and  they  again  to 
others  through  a  long  succession  of  ages.  Their 
united  curses  shall  at  last  gather  round  thee,  and 
sink  thee  deep  into  despair. 

2.  Let  us  enquire  which  character  we  bear,  thai 
of  Cain  or  Abel.  I  have  already  said  that  if  our 
worship  of  God  be  merely  formal  and  outward,  at- 
tended by  no  holy  affections  and  sanctified  desires  ; 
if  wc  be  possessed  with  a  self-righteous  spirit,  and 
only  cry  with  the  Pharisee,  •"  Lord.  I  thank  thee 


238  SERMON  XL 

that  I  am  not  as  other  men  ;"  refusing  to  lie  in  the 
dust  and  with  the  unfeigned  humility  of  the  publican, 
exclaim,  "  God  be  merciful  to  me  a  sinner ;"  if  we 
present  our  offerings  in  any  other  name  than  that  of 
Jesus,  and  look  for  acceptance  in  any  other  mode 
than  through  his  atonement  and  intercession  ;  if  we 
despise,  envy,  hate,  reproach,  vilify,  or  persecute 
the  people  of  God,  we  bear  the  image  of  Cain, 
'•ethren,  are  there  no  persons  of  this  descrip- 
within  the  sound  of  my  voice  ?  Let  those 
whose  consciences  declare  that  they  bear  some 
traits  of  this  character,  instead  of  farther  imitating 
Cain,  by  denying  their  crime,  by  attempting  to  con- 
ceal it  from  God>  by  quarrelling  with  the  divine  jus- 
tice, by  employing  the  time  of  God's  forbearance  in 
building  cities,  or  earthly  pursuits,  in  business  or  in 
pleasure — instead  of  this,  let  them  instantly  turn  to 
the  Lord ;  otherwise  they  shall  find  that  "it  is  a 
terrible  thing  to  fall  into  the  hands  of  the  living 
God ;"  they  shall  sink  under  his  curse  ;  and 
thoughtless  and  insensible  as  they  now  may  be,  shall 
hereafter  cause  the  regions  of  despair  to  resound 
with  that  agonized  cry,  "  My  punishment  is  greater 
than  I  can  bear." 

Are  there  on  the  contrary  any,  who  feel  that  they 
are  guilty,  but  look  with  faith  to  the  great  atone- 
ment ;  meek  but  zealous  worshippers  of  God,  bear- 
ing the  fruits  of  righteousness,  patiently  submitting 
to  afflictions  and  persecutions  for  the  sake  of  Christ, 


SERMON  XI.  239 

ready  to  lay  down  their  lives  rather  than  abandon 
him  ?  Such  have  the  character  of  Abel  ;  like  him 
they  are  beloved  by  God  ;  with  him  their  hearts 
and  their  voices  shall  hereafter  be  united  in  cele- 
brating that  "  Lamb  of  God  who  taketh  away  the 
sin  of  the  world." 

3.  Abel,  "  being  dead,"  says  the  apostle,  "  yet 
speaketh."     Yes!  from  the  height  of  heaven  he- 
addresses us  ;  and  how  many  important  instruc- 
tions does  he  communicate  to  us.     He  declares  to 
us  the  efficacy  of  that  blood  of  Jesus,  by  which  he 
has  obtained  salvation  :  he  shews  us  the  duty  of  fol- 
lowing the   Redeemer  through  affliction,  through 
persecution,  through  death  itself :  he  teaches  us  the 
necessity  of  a  constant  and  lively  faith  to  support  us 
in  our  trials  and  render  our  duties  acceptable.     He 
calls  to  you,  young  people,  and  reminds  you  that 
youth  and  health,  that  the  tenderness  and  desires,  the 
prayers  and  tears  of  parents,  cannot  shield  you  from 
the  stroke  of  death.     He  bids  us  all  remember  that 
We  may  suddenly  sink  into  the  tomb  ;  that  there  is 
not  a  moment  of  our  lives  in  which  we  may  not  be 
summoned  to  the  bar  of  our  God.     Oh !  may  these 
instructions  sink  deep  into  our  souls. 

4.  "  The  blood  of  Christ  speaketh  better  things 
than  that  of  Abel."  It  attracts  not,  but  repels  the 
thunders    of  divine  indignation :    It  cries  not  for 

Vengeance  ;  hut  its  language  is.  Orac-,  grace  to  the 


J40  SERMON  XL 

guilty.  Let  us  seek  to  be  sprinkled  with  this  pre* 
cious  blood ;  let '  us  with  this  plea  in  our  mouths 
draw  near  to  God  for  pardon ;  let  us  continually  look 
for  grace  and  glory,  for  forgiveness  and  salvation, 
to  that  "  great  Shepherd  of  the  flock,"  who  was 
offered  as  a  sacrifice  to  God,  who  was  hated,  perse- 
cuted, and  murdered  by  his  brethren.  Though  for 
shedding  this  blood  they  were  accursed,  scattered, 
and  made  a  monument  of  divine  justice;  yet  let  our 
souls  be  washed  in  it  and  they  shall  be  purified,  for- 
given,  and  prepared  for  heaven. 


SERMON  XII, 

HEAVEN. 

Matthew  xxv.  34. 

c<  Then  shall  the  King  say  unto  them  on  his  right  hand, 
Comey  ye  blessed  of  my  Father,  inherit  the  kingdom  pre- 
pared for  you  front  the  foundation  of  the  world" 

THE  moralists  and  divines  of  every  age  have 
tnade  frequent  lamentations  on  the  shortness  and 
misery  of  human  life.  Man  rises  into  being,  enjoys 
some  happiness,  experiences  much  sorrow,  and  then 
sinks  into  the  "  house  of  silence."  But  shall  the 
light  never  dawn  upon  the  dreary  cearments  of  the 
tomb  ?  Shall  corruption  forever  prey  upon  the 
mouldering  carcase?  Shall  death  hold  his  victims  in 
bonds  that  shall  never  be  broken  ?  No  :  for  as  "it 
is  appointed  unto  all  men  once  to  die,"  so  "after  that 
cometh  the  judgment ;"  at  the  sound  of  the  trump 
of  God,  the  dust  so  long  inanimate  shall  spring  into 
new  life ;  and  at  this  second  advent  of  the  Redeemer, 
the  tenants  of  the  grave  shall  appear  before  his  sa- 
cred tribunal. 

My  text  is  taken  from  a  description  of  the  events 
subsequent  to  this  resurrection  :  to  this  resurrection 


242  SERMON  XII. 

so  terrible  to  the  wicked,  since  to  them  it  is  the 
commencement  of  eternal  perdition  ;  so  joyful  to 
the  righteous,  since  it  secures  to  them  endless  feli- 
city ;  so  interesting  to  all  men,  since  it  irreversibly 
iixes  their  destinies.  All  nations  being  gathered 
together  before  the  judgment- seat  of  Christ,  the 
actions  of  their  past  lives  being  accurately  examin- 
ed, their  true  character  being  displayed,  and  the 
most  concealed  motives  of  their  conduct  being  ex- 
posed to  the  view  of  the  assembled  universe,  the 
Judge  with  infinite  benignity,  shall  address  the  par- 
doned and  redeemed  sinners  whom  he  acknowledges 
as  his  children,  and  shall  say,  "  Come,  ye  blessed 
of  my  Father,  inherit  the  kingdom  prepared  for  you 
from  the  foundation  of  the  world." 

My  sole  object  in  discoursing  from  these  words, 
is  to  point  out  the  constituents  of  that  future  felicity, 
which  is  here  promised  by  the  Saviour  ;  the  expec- 
tation of  which  is  the  prop  and  support,  the  conso- 
lation and  triumph  of  every  christian.  Such  a  sub- 
ject is  of  immense  consequence.  It  is  necessary  to 
know  the  nature  of  our  future  enjoyment,  that  we 
may  see  the  propriety  of  those  self-denying  duties 
enjoined  by  the  gospel  as  means  for  its  attainment, 
and  be  thereby  induced  sincerely  to  perform  them  ; 
that  the  hopes  of  it  may  teach  us  to  purify  our  souls, 
and  may  comfort  us  amidst  all  the  trials,  the  agita- 
tions, and  afflictions  of  life ;  and  that  the  frequent 
■  •ontcmplation  of  i!:  may  prompt  the  ardent  tribute  oi 


SERMON  XIL  043 

gratitude,  thanksgiving,  and  praise  to  that  God  who 
has  provided  it  for  us,  to  that  Saviour  who  has  pour- 
ed out  his  most  precious  blood  to  remove  those  ob- 
stacles to  our  salvation  which  were  otherwise  insu- 
perable, and  to  that  Holy  Spirit  who  sanctifies  and 
prepares  us  for  heaven. 

It  is  almost  unnecessary  to  premise  that  whatever 
I  can  say  on  this  theme,  will  fall  infinitely  below  my 
subject.     The  painter  who  should  essay  to  display 
upon  his  canvas  the  brilliancy  and  lustre  of  the  sun, 
would  be  certain  of  failing  in  the  attempt ;    how 
much  weaker,  when  compared  with  the  bright  orio-. 
inal,  must  be  the  most  elevated  description  of  those 
felicities,  which  even  Paul,  who  had  been  caught  up 
to  the  third  heaven,  declared  to  be  unutterable,  and 
of  which  the  beloved  disciple  who  had  lain  in  the 
bosom  of  the  Saviour  asserted,  "  It  doth  not  yet  ap- 
pear what  we  shall  be."     Nevertheless,  some  idea 
may  be  had  of  this  glory  to  be  revealed,  by  consid- 
ering that  it  includes  the  renewal  and  glorification  of 
the  body ;  the  expansion  of  the  understanding,  with 
proper  objects  for  its  employment ;   the  perfection 
of  holiness  with  a  sufficient  sphere  for  its  exertion  ; 
the  removal  of  every  species  of  misery  ;  the  blissful 
society  of  angels  and  the  spirits  of  just  men  made 
perfect  ;    the  vision  and  fruition  of  God  and  the 
Redeemer ;  and  the  certainty  that  these  enjoyments 
shall  be  eternal. 


244  SfcRMON  XII. 

1.  In  heaven  the  bodies  of  the  saints  shall  be  renew- 
ed and  glorified.  Corruption  may  prey  upon  them 
after  they  are  laid  in  the  dust  ;  the  particles  which 
compose  them  may  be  scattered  over  every  part  of 
the  earth,  yet  the  Almighty  will  re-assemble  these 
particles,  and  our  bodies  will  rise  essentially  the 
same  as  they  were  when  laid  in  the  grave.  But  as 
they  will  be  reared  again  by  the  Lord,  in  order  that 
they  may  partake  of  his  mercies  throughout  eternity, 
it  will  be  necessary,  lest  they  should  be  overborne 
by  the  abundant  communications  of  his  love,  that 
certain  changes  should  take  place  in  them,  which, 
without  destroying  their  identity,  will  infinitely  en- 
noble them.  As  in  the  spiritual  resurrection,  God 
does  not  create  a  new  soul,  but  sanctifies  that  which 
was  dead  in  sin,  and  gives  it  new  principles,  desires, 
and  affections  ;  so  in  the  natural  resurrection  he  will 
not  create  a  new  body,  but  will  give  to  that  which 
has  Iain  dead  in  the  tomb,  new  qualities  and 
more  exalted  properties.  Natural  reason,  unaided 
by  revelation,  cannot  establish  the  doctrine  of  the 
resurrection  of  the  dead  ;  much  less  can  it  teach  us 
the  precise  changes  that  shall  then  take  place  in  the 
bodies  of  believers.  The  scriptures,  however,  are 
sufficiently  explicit  on  this  subject.  St.  Paul  tells 
us  in  the  15th  chapter  of  the  first  epistle  to  the  Co- 
rinthians, the  body  "  is  sown  in  corruption,  it  is 
raised  in  incorruption  ;  it  is  sown  in  dishonour,  it  is 
raised  in  glory  ;  it  is  sown  in  weakness,  it  is  raised 


SERMON  XIL  345 

in  power ;  it  is  sown  a  natural  body,  it  is  raised  a 
spiritual  body."     And  in  the  3d  chapter  to  the  Phil- 
lippians,   he  informs  us,   that  "  Jesus  Christ  shall 
change  our  vile  body,  that  it  may  be  fashioned  like 
unto  his  glorious  body."     In  these  two  passages  we 
have  a  satisfactory  and  clear  enumeration  of  the 
principal  differences  between  our  earthly  and  heav- 
enly bodies.      Our  earthly  bodies  are  corruptible, 
subject  to  innumerable  disorders,  advancing  daily 
to  that  state  where  they  must  loathsomely  putrefy  : 
our  heavenly  bodies,  like  the  souls  which  shall  ani- 
mate them,  will  be  incorruptible  and.  immortal;  dis- 
ease and  languishment  shall  never  assail  them ;  death 
shall  have  no  power  over  them.     Our  earthly  bodies 
are    comparatively  dishonourable  and  vile — unlike 
to  that  of  Adam  in  Paradise,  they  are  through  our 
sins,  exposed  to  deformity,  defects  and  defilement. 
Our  heavenly  bodies  will  beam  with  glory ;  they 
will  (as  our  Saviour  assures  us)  shine  forth  as  the 
sun  in  the  kingdom  of  our  Father ;  they  shall  be 
lustrous,  like  the  face  of  Moses  when  he  descended 
from  Sinai,  or  like  that  of  Jesus  when  he  was  trans- 
figured upon  Tabor.     Our  earthly  bodies  are  weak  ; 
our  strength  at  best  is  inconsiderable  and  frail ;  it 
daily  decays  through  the  infirmities  of  age  ;  and  is 
liable  to  be  destroyed  by  innumerable  circumstan- 
ces.    Our  heavenly  bodies  will  be  of  vast  and  as- 
tonishing power  and  force,  which  shall  be  unmin- 
$ed  with  impotence,  and  unexposed  to  diminution. 


246  SERMON  XII. 

Our  earthly  bodies  are  natural,  or  (as  the  original 
word  also  signifies)  animal  ones  ;  fitted  for  the  low 
functions  of  animal  life  :  Our  heavenly  ones  will 
be  spiritual  ones,  fitted  to  aid  in  the  employments, 
to  participate  in  the  delights  of  an  immortal  spirit  in 
its  high,  ^t  state  of  perfection.  Our  earthly  bodies 
(it  is  the  last  and  most  important  idea  which  St. 
Paul  gives  us  on  this  subject)  are  like  that  of  fallen 
Adam  :  Our  heavenly  bodies  will  be  made  conform- 
ed to  that  of  our  blessed  Saviour :  Not  to  that  with 
which  he  travelled  through  Judea,  experiencing 
misery,  distress,  hunger,  pain,  all  the  innocent  in- 
firmities of  our  nature  ;  not  to  that  which  sunk  down 
in  agony  at  Gethsemane,  and  bled  upon  the  cross  ; 
but  to  that  in  which  he  rose  resplendent  from  the 
holy  mountain,  to  that  in  which  he  shall  come  at 
last  to  judge  the  universe.  O !  blissful  change* 
when  wilt  thou  arrive  !  when  shall  these  poor,  fee- 
ble, disordered  frames  be  thus  ennobled  and  glo- 
rified through  the  grace  of  our  God. 

2.  And  as  in  heaven  our  bodies  will  be  thus  re- 
newed, so  also  shall  our  knowledge  be  increased^  our 
understanding  be  inconceivably  strengthened,  and  be 
perpetually  employed  upon  the  noblest  objects. — > 
'*  Now,"  says  St.  Paul,  "  now  we  see  through  a 
glass  darkly,  but  then  face  to  face  ;  now  I  know 
in  part,  but  then  shall  I  know  even  as  Also  I  am 
known."      The   cultivation  of  thr»  understaudiiiii; 


SERMON  XII.  547 

,aflbrds  us  even  here  one  of  the  highest  gratifications 
which  we  can  enjoy.  There  are  few  pleasures  su- 
perior to  those  winch  are  felt  in  strengthening  the 
mind  by  study  and  meditation  ;  in  pursuing  and 
apprehending  truth  ;  in  passing  from  one  discovery 
to  another,  and  making  each  step  of  our  advancement 
the  foundation  of  farther  improvement.  But,  alas  ! 
these  pleasures  have  that  imperfection  which  be- 
longs to  all  earthly  objects^  and  are  mingled  with 
many  cares  and  difficulties.  The  weakness  of  our 
powers  makes  it  necessary  for  us  to  proceed  in  our 
investigation  after  truth,  by  slow  and  laborious 
advances ;  to  trace  the  mutual  connexion  and  de- 
pendence of  things  by  perplexing  and  painful  de- 
ductionsj  and  to  stand  in  constant  guard  against 
prejudice,  against  the  senses,  against  the  imagina- 
tion, against  the  passions,  against  the  natural  defects 
of  our  mind,  which  might  lead  us  into  error.  And 
after  such  constant  vigilance,  after  the  sacrifice  of 
Health,  of  riches*  of  social  enjoyments,  of  a  thousand 
pleasures — what  is  gained  ?  We  know  a  few  thing* 
superficially  and  indistinctly  :  we  perceive  many 
things,  concerning  which  we  must  hesitate  and  doubt: 
we  behold  innumerable  things  which  we  will  not  be 
able  to  comprehend  by  all  our  labours  and  research- 
es. "  Our  attainments  in  science  resemble  those 
stars  that  appear  in  a  dark  night ;  they  are  a  few 
luminous  points  scattered  at  a  distance  from  each 
©ther  in  a  sky  which  is  otherwise  gloomy  and  ob- 
scure.'''    Oh  !  how  painful  is  it,  mv  brethren,  thus 


249  SERMON  XII. 

to  desire  truth,  to  pursue  it,  and  yet  almost  always 
to  fail  to  apprehend  it ;  to  find  ourselves  almost 
always  baffled,  disappointed,  doubtful  or  ignorant. 
It  will  not  be  so  in  the  future  world  ;  there  our 
understandings  will  be  so  strengthened,  and  the 
depths  of  nature,  of  providence  and  grace  be  so 
unveiled  to  us,  that  the  decisions  of  reason  will  be 
equally  easy,  quick  and  certain  :  there  no  prejudice 
will  mislead  us,  no  passion  will  delude  us,  no  tri- 
fling objects  will  distract  us,  no  cumbersome  body 
will  weigh  us  down  to  earth  ;  but  the  mind,  privi- 
leged from  error,  shall  travel  on  from  truth  to  truth, 
from  attainment  to  attainment,  with  increasing  de- 
light through  interminable  ages.  O  christians  ! 
how  pure  and  serene,  yet  how  rapturous  will  be  our 
pleasure,  when  God  shall  give  us  in  heaven  that 
reality,  of  which  the  delights  of  science  on  earth 
were  but  the  shadow.  Contemplating  God,  the 
eternal  source  of  truth,  we  shall  behold  truth  itself 
unveiled  and  unclouded.  "  Our  attainments  will 
no  longer  be  a  few  luminous  points  scattered  here 
and  there  amidst  an  otherwise  general  obscurity, 
but  a  day  without  shadow,  an  ocean  of  light." — < 
Then  the  order,  the  harmony,  the  universal  beauty 
of  nature  shall  be  developed  to  us  :  then  we  shall 
see  and  adore  in  the  whole  conduct  of  providence, 
which  is  now  so  impenetrable  to  our  feeble  capaci- 
ties, displays  of  infinite  wisdom,  of  power  and  mer- 
cy, which  will  fill  us  with  admiration  and  love. 
Then  those  mysteries  of  grace,  which  angels  desire 


SERMON  XII.  219 

•;o  look  into,  shall  be  more  fully  unfolded  to  us  than 
they  could  be  by  the  united  wisdom  of  all  the  in- 
habitants of  earth.  Then  we  shall  study  in  them' 
selves  those  perfections  of  God  which  we  now  see 
only  through  the  medium  of  his  works,  which  we 
now  adore,  though  we  so  inadequately  comprehend 
them.  And  how  delightful  will  it  be  to  be  perpetually 
occupied  with  this  exhaustless  study  ;  how  joyous 
to  have  the  mind,  ever  unwearied  by  the  intensity 
of  its  application,  prying  deeper  and  deeper  into  the 
perfections  of  God ;  how  ravishing  thus  to  be  occu- 
pied by  infinity,  to  be  lost  and  swallowed  up  by  the 
greatness  and  immensity  of  the  attributes  of  Jehovah. 

3.  As  the  bodies  and  the  minds  of  the  bles- 
sed shall  be  thus  improved,  so  also  shall  their  holi- 
ness be  perfected,  and  their  wills  be  brought  into 
a  complete  subjection  to  the  will  of  God,  There 
"  nothing  that  defiles  shall  enter ;"  there  the 
"  spirits  of  the  just"  are  "  made  perfect."  Be- 
lievers, how  delightful  a  prospect  is  this ;  you 
daily  mourn  over  the  remains  of  corruption  within 
you  ;  you  daily  lament  that  your  will  is  so  perverse, 
that  your  affections  are  so  disordered,  that  tempta- 
tions still  have  so  much  strength  over  you  :  wait 
but  a  short  time,  and  glory  shall  entirely  abolish  in 
your  souls  the  existence  of  that  sin,  the  dominion 
of  which  has  already  been  destroyed  by  grace.  You 
will  no  longer  complain  of  "  a  law  in  your  mem- 
bers warring  against  the  law  of  your  mind,"  nor 


25$  SERMON  XII. 

u  of  the  lustings  of  the  flesh  against  the  Spirit  :^ 
you  will  no  longer  be  obliged  to  exclaim  with  the 
apostle,  "  O  miserable  man  that  I  am,  who  shall 
deliver  me  from  the  body  of  this  death ;"  for  it 
shall  be  thoroughly  removed  by  the  Saviour  when 
you  are  put  in  possession  of  eternal  life.  There 
you  will  not  sin,  for  all  those  causes  which  here  lead 
into  guilt  shall  be  unknown.  There  is  no  evil  so- 
ciety to  entice  you  by  their  licentious  principles  or 
their  irreligious  conduct ;  you  will  be  surrounded 
by  none  but  the  holy  :  there  is  no  carnal  body  to 
tempt  you  to  fulfil  its  lusts  ;  your  body  will  be  so 
spiritualized  as  to  be  entirely  under  the  direction  of 
a  purified  and  pious  soul  :  there  is  no  mistake  as 
to  your  duty,  for  "in  God'slight  you  shall  see  light":.? 
there  is  no  forgetfulness  of  the  presence  and  inspec- 
tion of  God,  for  you  will  be  ever  encircled  by  his 
brightness  and  glory  :  there  is  no  evil  world  to 
ensnare  your  affections  by  its  false  lustre  ;  its  riches, 
its  pleasures,  its  honours,  will  be  more  contempti- 
ble than  the  playthings  of  a  child,  when  com- 
pared with  the  beauties  of  the  new  Jerusalem  : 
there  is  no  satan  to  deceive  you  ;  he  gained  ad- 
mittance into  paradise,  but  from  heaven  he  is  eter- 
nally excluded :  there,  there  is  no  intermission  of 
the  divine  influences  ;  here  they  fall  upon  you  drop 
by  drop  ;  there  they  shall  pour  upon  your  souls  in  a 
rich  and  unfailing  torrent.  In  short,  nothing  will 
there  remain  which  can  in  the  most  remote  man- 
ner incite  us  to  sin.     No  David  will  there  have  to 


SERMON  XII.  251 

Jament  his  falls,  no  Peter  to  weep  for  his  denial  of 
his  Lord,  no  christian  to  pray,  "  Lord,  lead  us  not 
into  temptation."  Every  sincere  believer  shall 
then  stand  up  in  humble  triumph,  and  whilst  he 
ascribes  his  victory  to  the  unmerited  grace  of  God, 
shall  rejoice  that  he  has  at  length  arrived  at  that 
state  of  complete  purity,  for  which  he  has  so  long 
wished,  and  prayed,  and  laboured  ;  that  every  incli- 
nation contrary  to  his  duty  is  now  completely  taken 
away  ;  that  he  shall  no  longer  have  to  complain  of 
the  blemishes  and  sins  that  attend  his  best  perfor- 
mances ;  that  he  shall  never  more  have  to  lament 
the  coldness  and  hardness  of  his  heart ;  but  that  his 
soul  shall  burn  unceasingly  with  the  warmest  love 
towards  God,  and  the  purest  benevolence  towards 
all  his  fellow- creatures.  Saints  of  our  God  who 
have  already  arrived  to  this  happy  state,  blessed  in- 
deed are  ye  !  Whilst  ye  have  entered  into  the  port 
of  rest,  we  are  still  exposed  to  the  fury  of  the  tem- 
pest :  whilst  ye  have  received  the  crown  of  victory, 
we  are  left  to  conflict  with  enemies  and  dangers. 

4.  Sin  being  thus  completely  abolished,  all  that 
misery  and  sorrow  which  entered  into  the  world  by 
sin,  shall  be  abolished  with  it.  This  is  another 
constituent  of  the  heavenly  felicity.  Christians,  no 
pains  or  infirmities  of  body  shall  there  afflict  you  : 
After  your  convulsive  struggle  with  death,  they 
shall  be  felt  no  more  :  no  anguish  or  grief  of  mind  ; 
for  your  fullest  desires  will  be  satisfied.     There  will 


£52  SERMON  XII. 

be  no  wicked  men  to  vex  you  by  their  unholy  deeds  ; 
no  revilers  to  mock  at  you  for  your  attachment  to 
vital  godliness ;  no  slanderers  to  wound  your  good 
name,  or  to  charge  you  with  hypocrisy ;  no  mali- 
cious enemy  to  oppress  you ;  no  unfaithful  friend 
to  grieve  you.  You  will  no  longer  have  to  watch 
by  the  sick  bed  of  an  expiring  relative  and  receive 
Iiis  last  breath,  or  to  weep  in  anguish  over  his  grave. 
There  will  be  no  widow  or  orphan  to  be  consoled  ; 
no  hardened  sinner  to  warn  ;  no  brother  afflicted  by 
want,  by  sickness,  or  oppression,  to  be  lamented  ; 
no  blemishes  or  falls  of  the  pious  to  be  bemoaned. 
You  shall  partake  of  a  joy  that  shall  be  unmingled 
with  sorrow ;  of  a  joy  worthy  to  be  the  gift  of  a 
God  ;  worthy  to  be  the  purchase  of  the  blood  of  his 
Son.  Then,  as  the  voice  from  heaven  declared  to 
the  beloved  disciple,  "  God  shall  wipe  away  all  tears 
from  your  eyes,  and  there  shall  be  no  more  death, 
neither  sorrow,  nor  crying,  neither  shall  there  be 
any  more  pain  ;  for  the  former  things  are  passed 
away,"  (Rev.  xxi.  4.)  and  in  their  stead  will  be 
"  fullness  of  joy  and  pleasures  forever  more ;" 
u  for  the  Lamb  which  is  in  the  midst  of  the  throne, 
shall  feed  you,  and  lead  you  unto  living  fountains  of 
waters."  (Rev.  vii.  17.)  Then  the  recollection  of 
our  past  trials,  instead  of  paining,  shall  afford  us 
delight.  As  Moses  from  the  top  of  Nebo,  looking 
back  on  the  dangers  of  that  wilderness  which  he  had 
traversed,  was  more  gratefully  affected  by  his  pres- 
ent security  ;  as  the  victorious  general  feels  renewed 


SERMON  XII.  253 

satisfaction  by  recurring  to  the  perils  which  he  has 
endured  ;  so  shall  our  enjoyment  be  heightened  by 
considering  that  our  pilgrimage  through  this  wil- 
derness world,  where  we  were  encompassed  by  so 
many  dangers,  is  forever  at  an  end  ;  that  our  war- 
fare is  finally  and  gloriously  accomplished.  Like 
Noah  in  the  ark,  when  it  had  fixed  on  Ararat,  we 
shall  look  from  our  secure  height  over  the  passage 
of  a  troubled  life  ;  and  the  winds,  the  waves,  the 
tempests  being  ceased,  shall  enjoy  the  everlasting 
calm  of  heaven. 

5.  Christians,  if  your  natures  were  thus  perfected, 
if  you  were  thus  delivered  from  sin  and  misery,  you 
could  not  but  be  happy,  yet  this  happiness  would 
be  incomplete  if  it  were  solitary  ;  God  therefore  has 
graciously  resolved  that  in  this  eternal  life,  you  shaU 
have  the  society  of  angels  and  glorified  saints. 

The  angels  delight  in  your  happiness.  When 
man  was  first  created,  these  "  morning  stars  sang 
together,  and  these  sons  of  God  shouted  for  joy.'' 
(Job  xxxviii.  7.)  When  the  Saviour  became  in- 
carnate for  our  salvation,  a  host  of  them  appeared 
uttering  praises  and  thanksgivings  to  God.  (Luke  ii. 
13.)  When  a  sinner  repenteth,  there  is  joy  amongst 
them.  (Luke  xv.  10.)  In  the  midst  of  the  sorrows 
and  temptations  of  our  state,  they  minister  to  those 
that  are  heirs  of  salvation :  with  what  warmth, 
then,  will  they  welcome  us  to  their  blissful  society; 


254  SERMON  XII. 

with  what  transport  will  they  lead  us  to  the  throne 
of  God  and  the  Lamb ;  with  what  joy  will  they  re- 
late the  embassies  oflove  which  they  discharged  to 
us ;  the  succours  and  deliverances  which  they  un- 
seen afforded  to  us,  whilst  under  their  protection 
we  were  training  up  for  heaven. 

We  shall  be  united  also  to  all  the  good  men  who 
have  existed  from  the  creation  of  the  world.  The 
scriptures  clearly  imply  that  we  shall  know  all  these 
saints  in  the  kingdom  of  glory.  Thus,  you  recol- 
lect, that  the  apostle  Paul  consoles  himself  more 
than  once  with  the  prospect  of  meeting  in  heaven 
those  who  had  been  converted  by  his  ministry  on 
earth ;  that  it  is  made  a  part  of  our  privilege  to  sit 
down  with  Abraham,  with  Isaac  and  Jacob ;  that 
Lazarus  immediately  remembered  the  rich  man  ; 
that  Peter  in  the  transfiguration,  knew  Moses  and 
Elias,  notwithstanding  they  had  died  so  long  a  period 
before  him.  My  brethren,  how  unspeakably  con- 
soling is  this  anticipation  :  we  shall  be  united  in 
an  immortal  society  with  those  with  whom  we  have 
prayed,  and  suffered,  and  conversed,  and  gone  to 
the  house  of  God  in  company  on  earth  :  we  shall 
be  re-united  to  the  pious  husband,  or  wife,  or  parent, 
or  child,  or  friend,  who  have  gone  to  the  enjoyment 
of  their  Saviour,  leaving  us  desolate  and  afflicted. 
And  besides  these  former  acquaintances,  we  shall 
meet  with  those  whom  the  narrow  span  of  our  life 
does  not  permit  us  to  see  on  earth.     The  patriarchs. 


SERMON  XII.  255 

the  prophets,  the  apostles,  the  martyrs,  the  pious  men 
who  have  animated  us  by  their  example  or  encour- 
aged us  by  their  writings,  shall  there  be  our  friends 
and  companions.  It  was  a  wish  of  St.  Augustine, 
that  he  could  have  lived  in  the  time  of  Paul,  and  be- 
held him  delivering  his  defence  before  Felix :  he 
has  seen,  what  is  more  desirable,  St.  Paul  shouting 
the  praises  of  redeeming  love  before  the  throne  of 
the  Most  High  God:  and  we  too,  my  brethren,  shall 
see  him  and  all  the  holy  men  from  whom  we  are  se- 
parated by  distance  of  time,  if  we,  like  them,  are 
faithful  to.  the  death.  We  shall  meet,  too,  all  that  are 
separated  from  us  now  by  distance  of  place.  Inter- 
posing seas  and  mountains  divide  the  children  of 
God  from  each  other  in  this  our  earth  ;  we  hear  of 
many  faithful  disciples  of  Christ  in  the  old  world  and 
the  new,  whose  labours  and  exertions  in  the  cause 
of  their  Saviour  make  us  bless  God  that  he  has  not 
left  himself  without  witness  in  the  midst  of  a  crook- 
ed and  perverse  generation  :  but,  alas !  we  are  pre- 
vented from  associating  with  these  followers  of  the 
Lamb,  from  being  blest  by  their  society.  But,  chris- 
tians, we  shall  meet  them  hereafter,  and  shall  never  be 
divided  from  them  more.  O  who  can  conceive  how 
delightful  will  be  that  intercourse  which  we  shall 
then  enjoy  with  all  the  blessed  spirits,  and  with  all 
the  church  triumphant.  No  ignorance,  no  unkind- 
ly affection,  no  irregular  passion,  no  blind  zeal,  no 
narrow  and  selfish  views,  no  divisions  in  sentiment, 
no  slanderous  tonsrue  shall  impair  our  bliss ;  hut  the 

Li 


256  SERMON  XII. 

most  exalted  wisdom,  the  most  spotless  purity  and 
innocence,  the  most  tender  benignity  and  love  will 
be  united  in  their  highest  perfection  in  every  mem- 
ber of  this  heavenly  society  :  throughout  all  of  them 
there  will  be  a  complete  harmony  in  judgment,  in 
will,  and  in  practice  ;  all  of  them  will  be  united  inlovc 
to  that  God,  in  gratitude  to  that  Saviour,  whose 
throne  they  encircle;  all  of  them  will  be  so  com- 
pletely cemented  in  affection  to  each  other  that  the 
happiness  of  each  particular  one  will  become  a  com- 
mon felicity.  Selfish  and  censorious  world,  what 
have  you  to  compare  with  this  ennobling  and  rap- 
turous intercourse,  where  every  mind  thus  shines 
with  light,  and  every  heart  thus  burns  with  love  ? 

6.  My  brethren,  this  is  a  blissful  society,  but 
what  is  it  to  the  visio?z  and  enjoyment  of  God  and 
the  Redeemer,  with  which  believers  shall  be  made 
happy  in  heaven.  St.  John  assures  us  that  here- 
after we  shall  be  like  God ;  for  "  we  shall  see  him 
as  he  is."  The  Saviour  also  has  promised  to  the 
pure  in  heart  that  M  they  shall  see  God:"  and 
D  ivrd  expresses  the  same  idea,  when  he  exclaims 
"  I  shall  behold  thy  face  in  righteousness."  Do  you 
ask,  what  is  the  precise  nature  of  this  vision  of 
God,  and  of  the  enjoyment  which  thence  results  ? 
We  without  hesitancy  confess  our  ignorance  ;  for 
clouds  and  darkness  are  round  about  thee,  great 
God:  We,  short  sighted  creatures,  know  but  little 
of  thv  ruture  or  thy  essence  ;  we  are  totally  unable 


SERMON  XII.  257 

to  comprehend  the  manner  of  that  intimate  com- 
munion with  thee  which  shall  be  the  portion  of  thy 
saints  !  But,  my  brethren,  though  we  are  unable  to 
explain  the  particular  mode  of  this  enjoyment,  yet 
we  know  that  he  who  has  formed  an  infinite  diver- 
sity of  animated  beings,  can  communicate  himself  to 
them  in  an  infinite  variety  of  methods.  We  know 
that  in  heaven  his  immediate  presence  will  make  us 
more  sensibly  feel  his  love  ;  that  the  emanations  of 
his  goodness  will  fill  the  utmost  capacity  of  our 
souls ;  that  thence  will  spring  unfailing  and  unspeak- 
able delight.  We  know  that,  surrounded  by  his 
glory,  tasting  perpetually  of  his  mercy,  all  our  de- 
sires will  expire  in  his  bosom,  and  triumphs  of  joy 
and  of  rapture  will  succeed. 

And  there  too  we  shall  be  blest  by  the  presence 
of  our  glorified  Saviour — "  I  go,"  it  was  his  con- 
solatory  address  to  his  disciples,  "  I  go  to  prepare 
a  place  for  you  ;  I  will  come  again  and  receive  you 
to  myself,  that  where  I  am,  there  ye  may  be  also." 
"  Father,"  it  was  his  prevalent  prayer  in  their  behalf, 
"  Father,  I  will  that  they  also  whom  thou  hast  given 
me,  be  with  me  where  I  am  ;  that  they  may  behold 
my  glory  which  thou  hast  given  me."  Yes  !  we 
shall  see  that  glorified  body,  which  he  has  taken 
into  union  with  his  divinity  ;  that  body,  that  eternal 
monument  of  redeeming  love,  which  was  once  af- 
flicted, and  buffetted,  and  crowned  with  thorns  and 
crucified  j  but  which  now  is  raised  to  the  highest 

ML 


258  SERMON  XII. 

dignity  and  glory  :  those  arms  which  were  extend- 
ed upon  the  cross  for  your  salvation,  shall  be  open- 
ed to  embrace  you  :  that  heart  which  was  pierced 
for  your  offences,  shall  glow  with  affection  to  you  : 
he  who  wept  over  Jerusalem  shall  rejoice  at  your 
redemption.  O  what  joy  will  you  feel  in  beholding 
him  who  hath  loved  you  so  much  as  to  give  his  life 
for  you,  living  and  reigning  forever  and  ever  !  what 
joy,  after  having  loved,  and  adored  and  served  him 
below,  to  receive  from  his  hand  a  crown  of  unfading 
glory,  to  be  admitted  into  an  intercourse  with  him, 
to  dwell  in  his  embraces,  to  hear  him  declare  the 
scenes  of  woe  and  distress  through  which  he  passed 
to  pluck  you  from  the  eternal  burnings,  and  to  con- 
fer the  bliss  of  heaven  upon  you  :  what  joy  to 
follow  him  whithersoever  he  goeth,  and  to  find  in 
him  a  creator,  a  redeemer,  a  father,  a  tender  friend. 
Blessed  Jesus !  this  js  the  felicity  which  our  souls 
desire  :  Enjoying  thy  presence  and  partaking  of 
thy  love,  we  cannot  be  unhappy  :  and  separated 
from  thee,  we  should  be  miserable,  amidst  all  the 
Splendours  of  the  new  Jerusalem. 

7.  Finally,  these  pleasures,  this  glorious  life, 
will  be  without  decay  and  without  end.  They  are 
not  like  the  enjoyments  of  earth  which  require  to 
be  perpetually  varied  that  they  may  not  displease 
by  their  uniformity.  Here  we  can  never  be  weary, 
since  there  is  no  defect  in  the  objects  enjoyed,  no 
weakness  in  the  faculties  enjoying.     Here  there  is 


SERMON  XII.  259 

no  alternate  succession  of  trouble  and  joy,  no  mix- 
ture of  good  and  evil ;  there  is  no  change,  except  by 
the  augmentation  of  bliss.  And  as  there  is  no 
decay,  so  neither  is  there  any  end.  The  blessed 
are  not  pained  by  reflecting  that  these  enjoyments 
can  be  torn  from  them,  but  triumphing  in  the  se- 
curity of  the  divine  promises,  they  confidently  ex- 
claim, "  This  God  is  our  God  forever  and  ever." 
This  thought  redoubles  their  joys  and  consummates 
their  felicity. 

Thus,  my  brethren,  I  have  endeavoured  to  give 
you  an  imperfect  description  of  "  the  inheritance  of 
the  saints  in  light."  But  I  must  say  with  Job,  u  I 
have  uttered  what  I  understood  not ;  things  too 
wonderful  for  me  which  I  knew  not :"  for  the  fu- 
ture delights  must  transcend  the  most  elevated  con- 
ceptions that  man  can  have  of  them  in  this  dark 
commencement  of  his  existence,  incomparably  more 
than  the  highest  extacy  of  which  our  nature  is  here 
susceptible,  exceeds  the  dull,  the  undistinguishable 
perceptions  of  the  infant  in  the  worn  I).  Yet  forgive 
me,  O  God,  that  I  have  degraded  these  glories  by 
my  unworthy  representation  of  them  ;  and  grant, 
that  hereafter  enjoying  them,  we  may,  from  our  own 
experience,  form  more  suitable  conceptions  of  them. 

In  reviewing  this  subject,  let  us, 

1.  Enquire  whether  we  are  prepared  for  this  fell- 


260  SERMON  XII. 

city ;  whether  at  the  hour  of  dissolution  wc  shall 
enter  into  "  the  joy  of  our  Lord,"  or,  forever  ban- 
ished from  it,  and  lying  in  torments,  shall  see  it  only 
"  afar  off,"  and  behold  it  only  with  envy,  with  rage, 
and  self-reproach.  This  question  may  easily  be 
decided,  if  we  will  be  faithful  in  the  examination 
of  our  hearts  and  lives.  The  Saviour  who  has  pur- 
chased heaven  for  us,  and  who  confers  the  crown  of 
immortality,  has  plainly  taught  us  who  are  the  per- 
sons who  alone  shall  dwell  with  him  in  glory.  They 
are  those,  who  having  felt  that  they  were  wretched 
and  undone,  have  fled  to  his  cross  for  pardon,  and  to 
his  Spirit  for  power  to  resist  sin  ;  have  given  them- 
selves up  to  him  in  an  everlasting  covenant,  and  have 
accepted  him  as  their  Saviour  and  their  king ;  have 
chosen  God  and  heaven  and  holiness  as  their  portion, 
and  have  laid  up  their  best  treasure  and  their  dear- 
est hopes  there  "  where  Jesus  is,  at  God's  right 
hand  ;"  have  mourned  over  their  remaining  imper- 
fections, and  have  prayed  and  longed  and  laboured 
for  complete  holiness.  If  when  you  die,  this  be  not 
your  character,  so  sure  as  God  is  true,  you  must  be 
excluded  from  these  joys,  and  all  your  sanguine 
hopes  of  heaven  be  forever  blasted.  Notwith- 
standing the  infinite  mercy  of  God  and  the  bound- 
less merits  of  Jesus,  no  unsanctified  soul  shall  ever 
be  admitted  into  the  new  Jerusalem.  Strictly 
then  try  yourselves :  dream  not  away  your  lives 
in  carnal  security  :  be  not  satisfied  till  you  have 
evidence  derived  from  that  word  of  God  by  which 


« 


EUMON  XII.  261 

you  shall  be  judged,  of  your  preparation  for 
heaven ;  evidence,  that  will  uphold  your  sinking 
spirit  when  contending  with  the  last  enemy,  and  that 
will  brighten  as  you  approach  the  light  of  eternity  ; 
evidence  that  will  stand  the  scrutiny  of  that  holy 
tribunal  where  God  will  search  deep  into  our  souls, 
and  where  the  mere  name  of  a  christian  will  not  be 
considered  as  constituting  Christianity. 

2.  We  should  be  deeply  humbled  for  our  insen* 
sibility  to  blessings  so  immense,  for  the  feebleness 
of  our  desires  and  longings  for  this  felicity.  We 
should  naturally  suppose  that  when  such  high  joys 
were  proposed  to  our  hopes  and  expectations,  the 
children  of  men  would  delight  to  lift  the  curtain 
which  covers  futurity,  and  gaze  on  the  eternity  of 
being,  the  consummation  of  holiness,  the  perfection 
of  biiss,  reserved  for  the  pious  ;  that  believers  est 
pecially  would  perpetually  groan  to  be  delivered 
from  these  fetters  of  flesh,  which  hold  their  souls  in 
thraldom,  and  prevent  them  from  mounting  and 
winging  their  flight  to  the  bosom  of  their  Redeemer. 
But,  alas  !  when  we  look  around  us  in  the  world, 
how  few  do  we  perceive  with  these  feelings  and 
disposition  :  almost  all  men  regard  this  world  as 
their  country,  and  consider  themselves  as  inhabit- 
ants, not  pilgrims  in  it ;  they  had  rather  be  in  the 
body  than  with  the  Lord  ;  and  the  presence  of  the 
Saviour,  that  presence  which  constitutes  heaven,  is 
the  object  of  their  dread.     Ah  !  is  this  the  disposi- 


262  SERMON  XII. 

tion  of  a  christian  ?  Were  these  the  feelings  of  a 
Paul,  while  panting  for  celestial  joys,  he  cries,  "  I 
desire  to  depart  and  to  be  with  Christ,  which  is  far 
better  :"  of  a  Peter,  when  with  so  much  delight  he 
tells  the  churches,  "  I  must  shortly  put  off  this 
tabernacle,  even  as  the  Lord  Jesus  hath  shewed 
me  :"  of  a  John,  who  so  joyfully  responds  to  the 
Saviour,  telling  him,  "  I  come  quickly — Even  so, 
Amen,  come  Lord  Jesus. iy  Let  us  imitate  these 
holy  men  ;  let  us  study  to  acquire  such  a  temper  as 
will  induce  us  to  view  life  as  a  subject  of  patience 
and  resignation,  and  death  as  a  cause  of  triumph  and 
joy  :  let  us  cultivate  those  feelings  so  forcibly 
expressed  by  St.  Augustine  :  "  O  joy  most  ex- 
quisite, most  excellent,  most  comprehensive  5 
above  which,  in  comparison  of  which,  beside  which, 
there  is  no  joy  !  when  shall  I  enter  into  thee,  and 
behold  my  God  that  dwelleth  in  thee !  what  is  it 
that  detains  me  from  him  whom  my  soul  loveth  ? 
How  long  shall  it  be  said  to  my  .eager  heart — Wait, 
wait  patiently  ?  And  now,  O  Lord,  what  do  I  wish 
and  wait  for  ?  surely  it  is  for  my  Lord  and  Saviour 
Jesus  Christ ;  surely  it  is  for  thy  coming  to  the 
marriage  that  thou  mayest  admit  me  to  the  bride- 
chamber.  Come  quickly,  Lord,  and  do  not  tarry  ; 
come  and  unlock  our  prison-doors,  that  thy  re- 
leased may  walk  before  thee  with  a  perfect  heart ; 
come,  my  light,  my  Redeemer,  and  set  my  soul 
at  liberty,  that  I  may  give  thanks  unto  thy  holy 
name.     Kow  long  shall  I  continue  tossed  on  the 


SERMON  XII.  263 

Waves  of  this  mortal  life,  separated  from  thee." 
Ah  !  my  brethren,  can  you  who  are  contented  with 
earth,  who  long  not  for  a  better  portion,  suppose 
that  you  will  dwell  with  these  men  from  whom 
your  temper  is  so  discordant. 

3.  This  subject  is  full  of  consolation  for  the  be- 
liever. However  severe  may  be  your  sufferings  on 
earth,  heaven  will  abundantly  compensate  you  for 
them  :  fear  not  then  the  cross,  since  it  will  be  suc- 
ceeded by  the  crown.  '*  If  ye  suffer  with  the  Re- 
deemer, ye  shall  also  be  glorified  together."  Ask 
those  who  are  already  received  to  the  embraces  of 
their  Saviour,  whether  it  is  not  better  to  experience 
affliction  upon  earth  for  the  sake  of  Jesus,  and  then 
to  dwell  in  heaven  with  him  in  endless  joys,  than  to 
enjoy  the  vain  delights  of  sinners,  and  to  descend 
into  everlasting  despair.  Ask  the  martyrs  whether 
they  regret  that  they  submitted  to  all  the  tortures 
which  the  most  ingenious  cruelty  could  devise, 
rather  than  forsake  their  Lord.  Ah !  could  we 
have  but  a  single  view  of  the  redeemed,  we  should 
no  longer  hesitate  to  "  follow  the  Lamb  whitherso- 
ever he  leadeth ;"  did  we  keep  fresh  upon  our 
hearts  the  joys  of  heaven,  we  should  smile  in  every 
sorrow,  we  should  exult  in  death,  and  seeing  the 
gloom  of  the  grave  dissipated  by  a  light  from  heaven^ 
we  should  regard  it  only  as  the  path  to  immortality, 
the  gate  of  glory. 

Mvr 


SERMON  XIII. 

LOVE  TO  THE  SAVIOUR. 

John  xxi.  17. 

60  He  saith  unio  him  the  third  timc>  $imon>  son  of  Jonas^ 
lovest  thou  me  ?" 

"  I  WILL  not  deny  thee,  I  will  die  for  thee, 
though  all  should  be  offended  because  of  thee,  yet 
will  I  never  be  offended"- — These  were  the  confi- 
dent declarations  of  Peter  when  the  Saviour  foretold 
his  lamentable  fall.  They  were  not  hypocritical  ex- 
pressions ;  his  heart  accorded  with  the  words  of  his 
mouth,  and  he  really  believed  that  he  would  rather 
brave  death  clothed  with  its  most  awful  terrours  than 
deny  his  master.  Alas !  he  forgot  the  frailty 
and  deceitfulness  of  the  heart  when  left  to  itself  and 
unsupported  by  divine  grace ;  a  few  hours  after 
these  protestations,  he  thrice  denies  any  knowledge 
of  Jesus,  denies  him  with  execration.  This  con- 
duct was  highly  criminal,  but  he  rose  from  it  again 
by  a  deep  repentance ;  for  when  after  the  third 
denial,  "  the  Lord  turned  and  looked  upon  Peter  :" 
this  look  penetrated  to  his  soul,  and  caused  his  eyes 
to  gush  forth  with  penitential  tears.     The  Saviour 


IE! 


SERMON  XIII.  265 

saw  the  sincerity  of  his  repentance,  and  in  several 
conversations  with  him  after  the  resurrection,  res- 
tored to  his  afflicted  mind  pardon  and  peace.  One 
of  these  conversations  is  related  in  the  chapter  whence 
our  text  is  taken.  Jesus  having  met  his  apostles 
in  Galilee,  according  to  his  promise,  converses  with 
them  in  general,  and  then  addresses  his  discourse  to 
Peter  in  particular  :  "  Simon,  son  of  Jonas,  lovest 
thou  me  more  than  these,"  thy  companions  do? 
"  The  night  on  which  I  was  betrayed,  thou  declar- 
edst  that  although  all  others  should  deny  me,  yet 
wouldst  not  thou  ;  and  now  thou  hast  preceded  thy 
fellow-disciples  to  testify  thy  affection ;  these, 
however,  are  equivocal  proofs  of  attachment ;  I  ask 
thee  then,  Lovest  thou  me  more  than  they  do  ?" 
This  question  is  three  times  repeated  to  remind  Pe- 
ter of  his  three-fold  denial,  and  to  give  him  an  op- 
portunity of  repairing  it  by  thrice  displaying  the 
disposition  of  a  true  disciple.  Peter  had  learned 
humility  by  his  fall ;  he  no  longer  dares  to  compare 
himself  with  his  fellow-disciples ;  but  nevertheless 
he  can  appeal  to  the  omniscience  of  his  master 
for  the  sincerity  of  his  affection  :  "  Perhaps  I  should 
flatter  myself  in  estimating  the  degree  of  my  affec- 
tion to  thee,  in  declaring  what  I  would  undergo  to 
attest  it ;  but,  Lord,  thou  knowest  all  things ;  thou 
knowest  that  I  love  thee." 

My  brethren,  if  Jesus  Christ  were  to  put  the  same- 
question  to  each  one  of  us,  were  individually  to  en- 


266  SERMON  XIIL 

quire  of  us,  Lovest  thou  me,  I  fear  that  the  greater 
part  of  us,  instead  of  being  able  to  appeal  with  hum- 
ble confidence  to  the  Searcher  of  hearts,  would  be 
abashed  and  overwhelmed  with  confusion.  Yes ! 
the  humiliating  confession  must  be  made,  there  are 
few  men  who  love  the  Saviour  :  the  visible  church 
of  Christ  is  but  small,  and  even  in  its  bosom  how 
many  are  there  whose  careless  and  worldly  conduct 
proves  that  they  are  either  utter  strangers  to  this 
heavenly  grace,  or  possess  it  but  in  the  smallest 
degree.  What  a  lamentable  reflection  is  this,  and 
what  a  heart  must  he  have  who  can  think  of  it  with- 
out emotion  !  There  are  but  few  persons  who  love 
the  Saviour :  that  is  to  say,  almost  all  mankind  are 
guilty  of  monstrous  ingratitude,  are  blind  to  true 
excellence,  are  going  thoughtlessly  to  perdition  : 
that  is  to  say,  the  prince  of  darkness  rules  upon 
earth,  and  is  drawing  down  millions  to  his  dreary 
habitation.  In  enquiring  into  the  reasons  of  the 
general  neglect  of  this  duty,  two  principal  ones  have 
occurred  to  me.  Many  do  not  labour  for  the  at- 
tainment  of  love  to  Christ,  because  deceived  by  na- 
tural emotions  which  somewhat  resemble  it,  they 
falsely  suppose  they  already  possess  it.  Many  do 
not  labour  for  the  attainment  of  love  to  Christ,  be- 
cause they  have  never  solemnly  pondered  those  im- 
pressive motives  which  should  induce  them  to  strive 
for  it.  Against  these  two  causes  we  direct  the  two 
heads  of  our  discourse,  in  which  we  will 


SERMON  XIII.  267 

I.  Shew  you  the  nature  of  true  love  to  Christ : 

II.  Urge  upon  you  a  variety  of  motives  to  induce 
you  to  seek  for  it. 

I.  We  must  begin  by  givin  g  a  general  idea  of 
love  as  it  subsists  between  intelligent  beings.  Love 
then  is  an  affection  resulting  from  the  perception  of 
excellencies  in  the  persons  beloved,  causing  us  to 
desire  the  most  intimate  union  with  them,  attracting 
the  mind  and  the  heart  towards  them,  and  making 
us  to  enjoy  from  an  intercourse  with  them  the  sweet- 
est pleasures.  This  is  a  definition  of  love  in  its 
most  extensive  sense;  and  hence  it  follows,  that 
love  to  Christ  is  that  grace  whereby,  upon  a  disco- 
very of  the  Redeemer's  matchless  excellencies,  the 
souls  of  believers  are  caused  to  thirst  after  a  more 
intimate  union  with  him,  their  minds  and  their 
hearts  are  withdrawn  from  other  objects  and  fixed 
upon  him,  and  they  esteem  an  intercourse  with  him 
their  chief  joy. 

But  it  is  necessary,  in  order  that  we  may  be  forti- 
fied against  the  deceptions  of  our  hearts,  and  that 
we  may  know  our  true  character,  to  consider  more 
in  detail  the  foundation,  the  properties^  and  effects 
of  a  true  love  to  Christ. 

What  then  is  the  foundation^  the  ground^  or  the 


268  SERMON  XIII. 

cause  of  love  to  Christ  ?  In  order  that  we  should 
love  any  object  three  things  are  requisite ;  this 
object  must  have  certain  excellencies;  these  ex 
cellencies  must  be  perceived  by  us  ;  and  there 
must  be  a  conformity  between  these  excellencies 
and  the  inclinations  of  our  hearts.  Where  one  of 
these  circumstances  is  wanting  there  can  be  no  love, 
and  it  is  the  concurrence  of  the  three  that  is  the 
foundation  of  love  to  Christ. 

The  Saviour  has  those  excellencies  which  render 
him  intrinsically  lovely,  and  infinitely  suitable  to  us. 
In  himself,  he  is  the  perfection  of  beauty,  the  pat- 
tern of  loveliness,  the  centre  of  all  moral  excellence; 
all  the  perfections  that  are  scattered  over  the  works 
of  creation,  have  emanated  from  him  the  great  Crea- 
tor; they  are  only  a  drop  from  him  the  mighty 
ocean,  a  beam  from  him  the  brilliant  sun.  Every 
excellence  is  concentrated  in  him  in  an  infinite  de- 
gree, so  that  the  eternal  Father  always  beholds  him 
with  delight,  and  the  splendid  host  of  heaven  gaze 
upon  him  with  wonder  and  with  Ioyc  Thus  worthy 
in  himself  of  our  supreme  affection,  he  is  moreover 
a  Redeemer  perfectly  adapted  to  our  state  and  cir- 
cumstances ;  he  has  precisely  those  graces,  those 
dispositions  and  sentiments,  which  fit  him  to  be  the 
Saviour  of  perishing  sinners,  the  fountain  of  joy  to 
our  miserable  race  :  supremely  excellent  in  himself 
he  is  no  less  so  in  the  relation  which  he  bears  to  us 


SERMON  JCIH.  269 

I 

But  even  though  the  SaViour  possess  all  these 
excellencies,  yet  to  us  they  are  still  invisible,  and 
therefore,  till  in  some  manner  they  are  presented  to 
us,  they  cannot  be  effectual  in  moving  our  love. 
The  diamond  may  have  a  dazzling  brightness,  yet 
we  shall  not  admire  it  till  it  is  brought  from  the  caves 
of  the  earth  where  it  lies  concealed  from  observa- 
tion, and  presented  to  our  view.  Doubtless  there  are 
many  persons  in  distant  countries  of  whom  we  have 
never  heard  and  who  are  deserving  of  our  warmest 
attachment,  but  we  cannot  exercise  this  attachment 
till  their  amiable  qualifications  are  made  known  unto 
us.  In  like  manner  the  Saviour  may  possess  su- 
preme excellence,  yet  this  excellence  cannot  move 
us  till  in  some  manner  it  is  revealed  to  us.  The 
heart  will  not  be  attracted  except  the  mind  perceives 
or  fancies  that  it  perceives  some  loveliness.  God 
has  therefore  been  pleased  in  the  sacred  scriptures  to 
unveil  to  us  the  beauties  of  Immanuel,  to  display  to 
us  those  glories  which  seraphs  contemplate  with  ever 
new  delight,  to  shew  us  the  excellencies  of  his  per- 
son and  the  graces  of  his  heart,  to  give  us,  as  it 
were,  the  portrait  of  this  Redeemer,  to  sketch  out 
every  lineament  and  feature,  that  so  we  might  per- 
ceive how  deserving  he  is  of  all  our  love. 

Still  however  this  is  not  sufficient  to  kindle  the 
holy  fire  of  love  for  Christ :  he  may  have  divine 
endowments  and  celestial  qualities ;  we  may  clearl}r 


270  SERMON  XIII. 

perceive  all  these  endowments  and  qualities,  and 
nevertheless  the  deepest  enmity  against  him  may 
rankle  in  our  hearts.  However  cheering  the  light  of 
the  sun  may  be  in  itself,  and  however  brightly  its 
beams  may  shine  around  us,  yet  as  long  as  the  eye  is 
distempered,the  brightness  of  its  beams,  the  clearness 
of  its  light,  will  afford  not  pleasure,  but  pain,  because 
there  is  not  a  correspondence  between  these  two  ob- 
jects. In  like  manner,  however  excellent  the  charac- 
ter of  the  Saviour  may  be  in  itself,  and  however  clearly 
this  character  may  be  revealed  to  us,  yet  as  long  as 
the  soul  is  distempered  by  sin,  the  clearness  of  these 
views  will  excite  enmity,  not  love,  because  there  is 
no  correspondency  between  it  and  the  corrupt  incli- 
nations of  the  sinner's  heart.  If  the  beauties  of 
Jesus  were  conformed  to  the  taste  and  relish  of  our 
souls,  nothing  would  be  requisite  to  excite  our  love 
for  them  but  to  make  them  known  to  us ;  but  since 
they  are  holy  beauties,  and  our  souls  naturally  have 
a  tendency  to  sin,  it  is  plain  that  in  proportion  as 
they  are  manifested,  must  our  enmity  be  roused. 
It  is  for  this  reason  that  persons  under  their  first 
convictions  of  sin  frequently  feel  dreadful  heart-risings 
against  God  and  the  Saviour.  They  have  a  true 
view  of  the  infinite  holiness,  the  spotless  purity, 
and  the  inflexible  justice  of  the  divine  character ; 
but  as  yet  their  minds  are  not  conformed  to  these  at- 
tributes, and  therefore  the  contemplation  of  them 
excites  nothing  but  enmity.     It  is  for  this  reason 


SERMON  XIII.  271 

that  the  damned  souls  though  they  have  a  distinct 
view  of  the  character  of  Jesus,  do  nevertheless  con- 
tinually blaspheme  and  curse ;  because  though  the 
character  of  Jesus  is  infinitely  amiable,  and  their 
views  of  it  clear,  yet  it  does  not  correspond  with  their 
vitiated  propensities  and  sinful  desires.  It  is  evi- 
dent then  that  a  correspondency  of  heart  is  the  third 
thing  that  is  requisite  to  produce  true  love  to  Christ : 
And  this  correspondency  can  be  produced  only  by 
the  mighty  operation  of  the  Holy  Ghost  renewing 
our  minds ;  giving  us  new  tastes,  relishes,  and  incli- 
nations ;  causing  us  to  hate  what  we  once  loved,  and 
love  what  we  once  hated.  When  this  change  of 
sentiments  is  made,  when  we  are  thus  new-born, 
then,  and  not  till  then,  the  heart  will  be  attracted 
by  the  beauties  of  Immanuel,  will  flow  out  in  love 
towards  him,  will  accord  with  the  lips  when  they 
exclaim,  "  He  is  the  fairest  among  ten  thousand, 
he  is  altogether  lovely. " 

Such  is  the  origin  of  love  to  Christ.  Let  us  sum 
up  what  we  have  said  on  this  point  in  a  single  sen- 
tence. Love  to  Christ  is  produced  by  the  Holy 
Spirit,  who  shews  us  in  the  scriptures  the  real  char- 
acter of  Christ,  who  changes  our  hearts  so  that  they 
may  become  conformed  to  this  character,  and  thus 
fills  our  souls  with  admiration  of  the  glories,  with 
love  of  the  excellencies  of  the  Redeemer 


Nw 


272  SERMON  XIII. 

Ah  !  my  brethren,  how  many  of  you  are  there 
whom  this  observation  should  cause  to  tremble! 
How  many  of  you  who  suppose  that  you   have  a 
sincere,  spiritual  affection  for  this  Redeemer,  whilst 
you  have  no  other  love  than  that  which  is  founded 
On  nature,  custom,  education,  or  partial  and  unscrip- 
tural  views  of  Christ  ?  How  many  who  suppose  that 
thev  have  always  loved  the  Saviour ;  that  their  natu- 
ral dispositions  were  affectionately  inclined  to  him  ? 
Beware ;  you  are  deceiving   your  own  soul ;  you 
are  building  your  house  upon  the  sand  :  when  the 
floods  come,  and  the  waves  beat,  and  the  winds 
blow,  instead  of  affording  you  shelter,  it  will  fall  and 
crush  you  in  its  ruin.    You  arc  confiding  in  a  "  ref- 
uge of  lies  which  will  perish  when  God  taketh 
away  the  soul."      A  true  love  to  Christ  can  be 
founded  on  nothing  short  of  a  renewed  mind  and  a 
changed  heart.    Do  you  doubt  of  this?  Follow  me 
in  my  investigation,  and  you  will  find  that  your  love 
is  radically  defective.     Attend  whilst  I  pass  from 
considering  the   origin,  to  an  examination  of  the 
properties  of  a  true  love  to  Christ,  and  you  will  find 
that  you  do  not  possess  this  heavenly  grace. 

First  Property  of  love  to  Christ :  It  is  enlight- 
ened ;  that  is  to  say,  it  knows  and  delights  in  the 
real  character  of  the  Saviour.  There  are  many  whe 
form  partial  and  unscriptural  notions  of  Christ;  who 
conceive  of  him  as  all  mercy  without  justice  or  ho- 
liness ;  who  strip  him  in  their  conceptions  of  those  at- 


SERMON  XIII.  273 

tributes  which  are  opposed  to  their  corruptions,  and 
retain  only  those  to  which  the  natural  heart  has  no 
repugnance  ;  and  because  thejr  feel  some  affection 
for  this  phantom  of  their  own  creation,  they  call  this 
affection,  a  love  for  Christ.  The  believer  pn  the. 
contrary  looks  only  to  the  sacred  scriptures  to  find 
the  character  of  Christ ;  his  desires,  his  wishes,  the 
bias  of  corruption,  are  not  permitted  to  alter  the  por- 
trait drawn  by  the  pencil  of  heaven  :  he  adds  no  trait, 
he  detracts  no  feature,  in  order  to  lull  himself  to 
security  and  rest.  The  Christ  whom  he  loves  is 
not  that  fantastic  image  which  sinners  have  formed, 
who  connives  at  guilt,  who  permits  men  with  im- 
punity to  trample  on  the  authority  of  God,  and  is 
armed  with  no  thunders.  No,  the  Christ  who  has 
engaged  the  affection  of  believers  is  a  being  in  whom 
spotless  holiness  is  united  with  the  tenderest  com- 
passion ;  who  regards  the  honour  of  his  Father  as 
well  as  the  miseries  of  mortals ;  who  has  not  only 
manifested  his  grace  by  dying  when  we  must  have 
died  eternally  without  his  interposition,  but  who 
Will  also  display  his  justice  by  sentencing  the  im- 
penitent to  endless  despair. 

My  brethren,  it  is  of  vast  importance  for  you  to 
attend  to  this  property  of  love.  Many  souls  are  in 
hell,  who  doubted  not  that  they  would  have  entered 
the  kingdom  of  joy,  and  who  with  equal  surprise 
and  terrour  awoke  in  the  eternal  flames.  They 
formed  to  themselves  an  idol  which  they  loved  and 


274  SERMON  XIII. 

worshipped.  In  this  idol  were  reserved  those  peri 
fections  of  Christ  against  which  the  enmity  of  the 
heart  is  not  excited ;  those  holy  and  pure  perfec- 
tions of  the  Redeemer  which  are  opposed  to  cor- 
ruption, were  laid  aside,  and  in  their  stead  qualities 
were  substituted  which  would  not  be  inconsistent 
with  the  reign  of  sin.  This  visionary  being,  which 
has  no  prototype  in  nature,  was  called  Christ ;  they 
indulged  affection  towards  it,  they  supposed  it 
would  save  them  ;  alas  !  it  was  an  idol  which  had 
no  existence  except  in  the  imagination  of  the  framer, 
and  which  perished  together  with  him. 

Second  Property  of  love  to  Christ ;  it  is  ultimate  e 
that  is  to  say,  it  terminates  on  this  Saviour  as  its 
end,  and  does  not  regard  him  merely  as  a  mean  to 
farther  blessedness.  It  is  very  possible  for  an  un- 
regenerate  man  to  feel  certain  glows  of  affection 
when  he  sits  down  and  considers  the  inestimable 
benefits  which  Christ  has  procured  for  our  race  ; 
but  this  instead  of  being  a  spiritual  attachment,  is 
only  a  disguised  self-love.  If  I  love  Christ  merely 
because  he  can  rescue  me  from  hell  and  bring  me 
to  heaven  ;  if  I  love  him  only  because  he  can  bene- 
fit me  ;  it  is  plain  that  this  pretended  attachment  to 
him,  is  only  an  attachment  to  my  own-  interests 
and  happiness.  Christians  have  a  more  generous 
love  than  this  ;  they  love  their  Redeemer,  not  mere- 
ly because  he  can  procure  for  them  incalculable 
benefits,  but  because  in  himself,  and  without  any 


SERMON  XIII.  275 

consideration  of  his  benefits,  he  is  worthy  of  all  their 
desires.  If  there  were  no  heaven  to  hope,  no  hell 
to  fear,  their  attachment  would  still  continue,  be- 
cause those  qualities  of  Jesus  which  are  the  founda- 
tion of  it  are  immutable.  It  is  true  that  the  re- 
membrance of  the  benefits  which  he  has  bestowed 
or  promised,  gives  new  warmth  to  their  attachment : 
nevertheless  it  is  the  giver  and  not  the  gift  which 
engrosses  their  heart ;  Christ  is  preferred  before 
his  benefits.  We  do  not  regard  him  as  a  real  friend 
who  loves  us  only  so  far  as  we  can  subserve  his  in- 
terest ;  we  do  not  regard  her  as  an  affectionate  wife 
who  loves  only  the  portion  and  not  the  person  :  in 
like  manner  we  cannot  regard  that  as  a  true  love  to 
Christ,  which  is  founded  only  on  a  consideration  of 
the  blessings  which  he  brings,  whilst  his  personal 
excellencies  are  forgotten.  "  Not  thine,  dear  Lord, 
but  thee." — This  must  be  the  exclamation  and  the 
feeling  of  our  soul. 

Third  Property  of  love  to  Christ :  it  is  supreme, 
and  predominates  over  every  attachment  to  the  ob- 
jects of  earth.  Believers  behold  in  him  infinitely 
more  beauty  and  excellence  than  the  world  can  af- 
ford, and  they  therefore  see  nothing  here  below 
that  can  rival  him  in  their  affections.  Their  heart 
is  the  image  of  heaven  where  Christ  reigns  su- 
preme, and  all  is  submissive  to  him.  Though  oth- 
er affections  are  indulged  by  them,  yet  it  is  always 
in  subordination ;  earthly  objects  which  bear  the 


276  SERMON  XIIL 

stamp  of  imperfection  cannot  dispute  tlieir  heart 
with  the  adorable  Son  of  God.  Christ  himself 
enumerates  those  objects  to  which  we  are  most 
justly  and  most  strongly  attached,  and  assures  Us, 
"  He  thatloveth  father  or  mother  more  than  me  is 
not  worthy  of  me ;  and  he  that  loveth  son  or 
daughter  more  than  me  is  not  worthy  of  me." 
And  St.  John  also,  speaking  of  a  supreme  love, 
says,  "  Love  not  the  world,  neither  the  things  of 
the  world  ;  if  any  man  love  the  world,  the  love  of 
the  Father,"  which  co-exists  with  that  of  the  Son, 
"  is  not  in  him."  Except  therefore  you  have  such 
an  affection  to  Christ,  that  you  would  sacrifice  the 
dearest  earthly  enjoyments,  nay,  life  itself  rather 
than  abandon  him,  you  have  not  that  love  which  he 
requires. 

Fourth  Property  of  love  to  Christ :  It  is  perma- 
nent. It  is  not  like  those  streams  in  the  desert  of 
which  Job  speaks,  which  sometimes  rushed  forward 
in  an  impetuous  torrent,  and  at  others,  were  entirely 
dried  up ;  it  resembles  rather  a  mighty  stream,  stea- 
dily rolling  its  waves  along,  and  growing  deeper  and 
wider,  till  it  empties  itself  in  heaven,  the  ocean  of 
love.  What  indeed  should  cause  it  to  cease  ?  It 
is  not  wonderful  that  human  attachments  should 
be  dissolved :  we  soon  get  to  the  bottom  of  a 
creature's  perfections,  and  enjoy  all  that  is  to  be  en 
joyed;  but  it  is  otherwise  with  the  Redeemer, 
A  s  we  advance,  glories  rise  upen  glories,  beauties 


SERMON  XIII.  277 

after  beauties  develope  themselves,  and  throughout 
eternity  excellencies  before  unknown  will  be  meet- 
ing  our  eyes  and  affording  new  aliment  to  the  flame 
of  love.     No  :  love  to  Christ  is  not  a  dazzling  me- 
teor which  endures  for  a  moment  and  then  leaves 
us  in  darkness  ;  like  the  sun  it  steadily  pours  forth 
beams  which  enlighten  and  warm.    It  endures  in 
every  period  of  life  :    it  attends  us  to  the    tomb 
and  is  unhurt  by  the  stroke  of  death.     "  Who  shall 
separate  us  from  the  love  of  Christ  ?  shall  tribute* 
tion,  or  distress,  or  persecution,  or  famine,  or  na- 
kedness,  or  peril,  or  sword  ?    nay,  in   all  these 
things  we  are  more  than  conquerors  through  him 
thatlovethus."    It  is  true  that  this  love  is  not  al- 
ways in  the  same  vigour,    that  it  sometimes  lan- 
guishes and  puts  forth  but  kw  acts ;  but  the  princi- 
ple always  remains  ;  the  soul  still  tends  towards  the 
Saviour,  thirsts  and  longs  for  a  closer  union  with 
him,  and  will  not  repose  till  it  reclines  on  his  bo- 
spm. 

These  appear  to  me  the  principal  properties  of 
love  to  Christ :  let  us  now  consider  a  few  of  it- 
effects, 

First  Effect :  A  chearful,  constant,  and  universal 
obedience  to  his  commandments.  «  If  any  man  love 
me,  he  will  keep  my  words,"  says  the  Saviour.  Yes, 
love  to  Christ  is  always  attended  with  a  holy  fear  of 
offending  him,  and  a  holy  desire  of  obeying  Km  - 


278  SERMON  XIIL 

believers  therefore  are  serious  in  enquiring  what 
is  the  will  of  their  Lord,  and  diligent  in  obeying  it. 
This  obedience  is  chearful,  because  it  is  the  labour 
of  love,  the  service  of  a  dutiful  child  to  which  he  is 
impelled  by  affection,  and  not  the  constrained  per- 
formance of  the  affrighted  slave.     He   who  loves 
Christ  finds  a  present  sweetness  as  well  as  a  future 
reward  in  fulfilling  the  laws  of  his  master.    This 
obedience  is   constant:  those   who   are    animated 
by  this  heavenly  flame  are  not  satisfied  with  a  per- 
petual vicissitude  of  sins  and  repentance,  of  repen- 
tance and  sins ;  they  are  not   contented  like  those 
mentioned   by  the  prophet,  to  swear  now  by  the 
Lord  and  then  by  Malcham ;  to  speak  now  the  lan- 
guage of  Canaan,  and   then  that   of  Ashdod  ;  to 
go  now  one  step  forward    in  the  path  of  duty  and 
then  to  recede  another  in  the  path  of  guilt  :  no, 
they  strive  for  a  uniform  service,  they  desire  stea- 
dily to  perform  the  laws  of  Christ,  and  to  have  their 
whole  lives  devoted  to  him.     This  obedience  is 
universal:  they  do  not  select  from  the  command- 
ments of  Christ,  those  that  are  most  agreeable  to 
them,  and  neglect  others  ;  as  Christ  died  for  all 
sin,  so  they  strive  to  die  to  all  sin.    They  make 
war  upon  the   whole  host  of  iniquities ;  there  are 
no  Agags  whom  they  wish  to  spare  from  the  general 
devastation  ;    no  Delilahs  or  Drusillas,    favourite 
vices  which  cling  around  the  heart,  that  they  are 
not  willing  to  throw  from  their  arms  with  loathing  ; 
no  sins  so  small  that  they  can  view  them  without 


SERMON  XIII.  279 

emotion  ;  the  very  infants  of  this  Edom  they 
seize,  and  dash  against  the  stones.  Difficul- 
ties, dangers,  afflictions  will  not  deter  them  from 
obedience  :  like  the  martyrs  of  old  they  will  not 
count  even  their  lives  dear  unto  them  that  they  may 
win  Christ ;  they  will  follow  whithersoever  he  leads, 
"  through  evil  report  and  good  report,"  through  ter- 
rours  and  temptations,  through  a  sea  and  a  wilderness, 
through  fiery'serpents  and  sons  of  Anak.  When 
in  the  discharge  of  their  duty  they  meet  with  sor- 
rows from  which  nature  recoils,  love  stronger  than, 
nature  urges  them  forward,  and  makes  them  force 
their  way  through  a  host  of  woes  rather  than  forsake 
their  Master. 

Second  Effect :  A  love  to  every  thing  whereby 
Christ  is  displayed.  This  effect  embraces  many  par- 
ticulars. If  Christ  be  loved,  the  Holy  Spirit  who 
"  takes  of  the  things  of  Christ  and  shews  them  unto 
us,"  will  be  loved  also  :  we  shall  gladly  cherish  his 
dictates  and  motions  upon  the  heart ;  we  shall  listen 
to  his  voice  directing  us  in  our  duty,  with  joy  receive 
his  testimony  in  the  inner  man,  open  our  souls  for  the 
reception  of  his  influences,  and  be  careful  not  to 
quench,  to  grieve,  or  resist  him.  If  Christ  be  loved, 
his  scriptures  which  contain  his  will,  his  promises* 
his  threatnings  will  be  loved  also  :  "  O  how  love  I 
thy  law  ;  it  is  my  meditation  all  the  day  ;"  is  the 
language  of  him  who  has  this  affection.  If  Christ 
be   Idved,  his    ordinances  whet's  he    is1    wont    *o 

Go 


280  SERMON  XII! 

meet  with  his  people  will  be  most  dear  :  |C  Hoiv 
amiable  are  thy  tabernacles,  O  Lord  of  hosts  r  a 
day  in  thy  courts  is  better  than  a  thousand  :"  this  is 
the  sentiment  of  their  hearts  whose  affections  are 
fixed  upon  Jesus,  and  who  attend  his  ordinances  not 
to  pay  him  a  cold  formal  visit,  but  to  enjoy  deli- . 
cious  intercourse  with  him.  If  Christ  be  loved,  his 
children  who  bear  his  image  will  be  loved  :  "By 
this,"  saith  the  Saviour,  "  shall  men  know  that  ye  are 
my  disciples,  if  ye  have  love  to  one  another."  If 
we  admire  the  perfections  of  the  Lord,  we  must 
delight  to  see  these  perfections  enstamped  upon  any 
of  his  creatures  ;  if  we  love  him  we  cannot  be  in- 
different to  those  who  are  the  objects  of  his  tender- 
est  affection.  If  Christ  be  loved,  his  cause  and 
interest  will  lie  near  our  hearts  :  if  his  mercies  be 
despised,  his  authority  contemned,  his  glories  over- 
looked by  a  thoughtless  world,  his  friends  are  deep- 
ly grieved,  and  exclaim  with  David,  "  Rivers  of 
water  run  down  mine  eyes  because  men  keep  not 
thy  law ;"  or  with  Jeremiah,  "  Because  you  will 
not  hear,  my  soul  shall  weep  in  secret  places  for 
you."  On  the  contrary,  if  the  cause  of  Christ  flour- 
ish, if  sinners  be  converted  unto  him,  and  his  people 
excited  to  new  diligence  in  his  service,  the  souls  of 
those  who  love  him  swell  with  higher  and  purer  joy 
"  than  when  their  corn  and  their  wine  increase."  In 
One  word,  whatever  displays  Christ,  though  it  be 
but  a  glimpse  of  him,  is  precious  to  those  who  love 
him  ;  whatever  bears  his  impress,  though  it  be  in 
a  faint  manner,  is  most  dear  to  their  soulsi 


SERMON  XIII.  281 

Third  Effect :  A  longing  for  his  presence  ;  which 
is  necessarily  accompanied  with  a  delight  in  his  so- 
ciety, and  a  gri^f  for  his  absence.     There  can  be 
no  love  in  us,  if  we  do  not  thirst  and  pant  after  his 
presence  ;    if  we  do  not  desire  that  here  below  he 
would  come  to  our  souls  with  richer  communica- 
tions of  his  grace  and  love,  and  that  beyond  the 
grave  he  would  cause  us  ever  to  be  writh  him. — 
And  if  these    be  our  sentiments,   our  hearts  are 
frequently   breathing  forth  such  language  as  this, 
"  Come,  Lord  Jesus,  come  quickly ;    come,  take 
possession  of  this  cold  and  senseless  heart ;  subdue 
it  to  thyself;  destroy  those  sins    which  render  me 
so  unlike  to  thee ;  speak  to  me,  tell  me  I  am  thine  ; 
reveal  to  me  more  clearly  the  glories  of  thy  person, 
the  smiles  of  thy  face  ;  let  me  once  be  assured  of 
my  interest  in  thy  love,  and  then  hasten  the  period 
when  I  shall  be  delivered  from  the  thraldom  of  flesh, 
and  borne  to  that  better  world  where  I  cannot  but 
be  happy,  since  I  shall  be  with  thee."     These  are 
the  natural  expressions  of  a  heart  that  is  inflamed 
with  love ;  and  if  such  be  our  sentiments,  we  must 
mourn  and  grieve  whenever  the  Saviour  appears  to 
depart   from  the  soul  :  then  the  greatest  profusion 
of  outward  blessings  cannot  comfort  us ;    in  the 
midst  of  them  we  shall  still  sorrowfully  seek  the 
Beloved  of  our  souls,  exclaiming,  "  O  that  I  knew 
where  I  might  find  him ;  I  would  go  even  to  his 
mercy-seat."     And  when'at  last  he  lifts  upon  us  the 
'ight  of  his  countenance,  when  he  says,  "  Fear  not, 


282  SERMON  XIII. 

I  am  thy  salvation ;"  oh !  then  his  friends  expe- 
rience a  pleasure  which  they  never  did  find,  and 
which  they  never  will  find  in  earthly, delights  ;  the  y 
cry  out  with  rapture,  "  We  have  found  him  whom 
our  soul  loveth  ;  we  have  found  him,  and  will  not 
let  him  go  :"  their  exulting  hearts  break  out  into 
strains  of  thanksgiving,  joy,  and  praise. 

Thus  I  have  shewn  you,  my  brethren,  the  nature 
of  true  love  to  Christ.  I  pray  you  to  apply  the  tests 
which  have  been  given,  to  your  own  consciences  ; 
to  suffer  this  matter  no  Jonger  to  be  in  suspense  ; 
to  form  an  immediate  decision  of  this  question, 
tc  Do  I  love  Christ,  or  do  I  not."  It  is  too  impor- 
tant a  matter  to  be  in  suspense,  for  heaven  or  hell 
hangs  upon  its  determination.  Be  impartial,  since 
yours  is  not  the  final  nor  supreme  judgment ;  since 
your  judgment  must  be  reversed,  if  it  be  not  accord- 
ing to  truth.  Do  you  still  hesitate  whether  to  form 
this  decision  ?  Attend  to  the 

lid.  Head  of  our  discourse  ; 

In  which  we  will  give  you  some  motives  to 
this  love ;  motives  which  are  sufficiently  powerful, 
if  you  will  act  as  a  reasonable  being,  to  induce  you 
no  longer  to  protract  a  decision  on  this  point. 

From  the  variety  of  motives  which  occur  to  me,  I 
select  only  two  :  love  to  Christ  is  reasonable  and 
pleasant. 


SERMON  XIII.  283 

1.  Love  to  Christ  is  a  reasonable  duly.  When 
we  urge  you  to  the  practice  of  piety,  we  urge  you 
to  nothing  but  what  can  be  defended  upon  the  prin- 
ciples of  the  coolest  reason,  but  what  is  incumbent 
upon  you  as  rational  beings.  It  is  essential  to  the 
heart  to  love ;  it  must  cease  to  beat  before  it  can 
cease  to  love  :  the  only  question  then  is,  what 
shall  be  the  object  of  its  supreme  attachment,  the 
things  of  earth  or  the  great  Redeemer  ?  I  reply,  it 
is  reasonable  that  the  Redeemer  should  possess  this 
attachment,  because  he  has  incomparably  greater 
excellencies,  has  conferred  upon  us  inconceivably 
greater  benefits,  and  can  do  for  us  infinitely  more  than 
the  things  of  earth.  These  three  ideas  are  so  many 
proofs  of  the  reasonableness  of  a  supreme  love  to 
Christ. 

He  has  incomparably  greater  excellencies. — 
Accumulate,  heap  one  upon  another  all  the  qualities 
which  can  captivate  a  feeling  heart,  they  are  all  per- 
fectly combined  in  him.  He  is  "  the  brightness  of 
his  Father's  glory,  the  express  image  of  his  person." 
Every  perfection  is  found  in  him  in  a  degree  far  be- 
yond the  conception  of  the  most  exalted  seraph  ; 
the  splendid  host  of  glorified  immortals  can  devise 
no  higher  source  of  felicity  than  to  behold,  admire, 
and  serve  him.  Summon  up  all  the  objects  of 
earth  on  which  your  heart  is  fixed  ;  place  them  by 
his  side  ;  do  you  not  see  that  they  diminish,  that 
they  contract  to  a  point,  to  a  nothing,  when  com- 


284  SERMON  XIII. 

pared  with  him.  On  what  article  will  you  insti- 
tute a  comparison  between  these  idols  who  pos- 
sess your  affection,  and  the  mighty  Saviour  ?  On 
that  of  power  ?  His  arm  upholds  the  universe  ; 
upon  it  universal  nature  fixedly  hangs.  On  that 
of  wisdom  ?  His  eye  at  one  glance  pervades  all  be- 
ing, and  runs  through  the  past,  the  present,  and 
the  future.  On  that  of  permanence  ?  "  From  ever- 
lasting to  everlasting  he  isGod."  On  that  of  mercy  ? 
Angels  confess  that  their  faculties  are  too  weak  to 
comprehend  his  goodness,  and  their  tongues  too 
feeble  worthily  to  celebrate  it.  Yes,  if  excellence 
and  perfection  be  the  ground  of  attachment,  Jesus 
must  have  our  hearts. 

But  besides  this,  he  also  demands  your  attach-, 
ment  from  the  consideration  of  what  he  has  done  for 
you.  Think  of  his  benefits,  and  then  tell  me,  is  it 
not  reasonable  you  should  love  him  ?  A  few  years 
ago  you  did  not  exist  ;  a  few  years  ago  this  body 
which  is  so  admirably  constituted,  this  soul  which 
is  endowed  with  such  noble  faculties,  were  not  in 
being  :  who  then  called  you  from  the  womb  of 
non-existence  and  made  you  what  you  are  ?  Who 
but  Christ,  "  without  whom  not  any  thing  was 
made,  that  was  made  ?" — Having  created  us  he  also 
preserves  us.  This  nice  and  complicated  machine 
which  he  has  formed,  would  soon  run  into  disorder 
if  he  did  not  continually  touch  its  springs.     If  he 


SERMON  XIII.  285 

were  at  this  time  to  withdraw  his  supporting  influ- 
ence, in  an  instant,  in  the  "  twinkling  of  an  eye," 
the  voice  of  him  who  speaks  to  you  would  falter, 
would  expire  in  death,  and  the  ears  of  you  who  hear 
me,  would  be  closed  by  the  touch  of  dissolution. 
Is  this  all  that  he  has  done  for  us  ?  No,  he  paid 
the  price  of  our  redemption  ;  he  submitted  to  woes 
unutterable  to  raise  us  to  glory. — Behold  him  in 
the  garden  crushed  down  under  the  weight  of  our 
sins,  and  experiencing  agonies  unutterable  :  see 
him  on  Calvary  ;  justice  can  find  nothing  in  him  to 
condemn,  yet  "he  is  smitten  for  us,  and  afflicted :" 
the  cross  is  red  with  his  blood;  our  iniquities  en- 
compass him  and  stab  him  to  the  soul ;  the  vials  of  di- 
vine indignation  are  poured  out  upon  his  sacred  head, 
and  he  exclaims  in  agony — "  My  God,  my  God, 
why  hast  thou  forsaken  me  ?"  Which  of  those  earth- 
ly objects,  which  steal  away  your  soul  from  Christy 
has  done  as  much  as  this  for  you.    . 

And  finally,  what  can  they  do  for  you  in  compari- 
son to  xvhat  Christ  can  and  will  do,  if  you  give  him 
your  affections  ?  They  can  bestow  on  you  only  tri- 
fling gratifications  whilst  you  are  on  earth,  and  they 
make  no  provision  for  that  eternity  which  lies  be- 
yond the  grave.  All  those  things  which  you  here 
love,  and  eagerly  pursue  cannot,  when  you  leap  the 
gulph  of  time,  interpose  between  you  and  eternal 
misery.     The  delicacies  of  Dives,  the  full  barns  of 


286  SERMON  XM. 

the  rich  fool,  the  great  possessions  of  the  young  ru- 
ler, have  long  since  ceased  to  delight  them.     The 
pomp  of  Herod  and  the  rhetoric  of  Tertullus  have 
not  been  able  to  hinder  the  flames  from  enwrapping 
their  tortured  bodies.     Foolish  men  !  had  they  fix- 
ed upon  the   Saviour  those  affections  which  were 
given  to  the  world,  they  had  now  been  triumphing 
in  the  regions  of  glory,  instead  of  lamenting  their 
misery  in  the  dungeons  of  despair  !  Foolish  men  ! 
whilst  they  now  cast  a  mournful  look  across  the 
impassible  gulph  which  separates  them  from  heaven, 
they  are  obliged  to  confess  that  the  world  mocks  itr. 
followers  with  delusive  promises  of  happiness,  whilst 
Jesus  alone  affords  a  felicity  commensurate  with  the 
faculties,  co-eval  with  the  existence  of  the  soul. 
Unite  all  these  ideas,  and  you  cannot  hesitate  to  ac- 
knowledge that  it  is  reasonable  for  you  to  love  the 
Saviour.     I  present  you  with  a 

Second  Motive :  It  is  pleasant.  Ye  mortals, 
who  in  search  of  pleasure  are  pursuing  airy  phan 
toms  which  cannot  satisfy  you,  are  embracing  vain 
shadows  which  elude  your  grasp,  come  and  learn 
where  true  delight  is  to  be  found.  The  exercise  of 
a  true  love  for  Christ  and  nothing  short  of  this  will 
render  you  happy.  If  earthly  love  affords  delight, 
how  much  more  rapturous  must  be  the  sensations 
resulting  from  divine  love  ?  What  joy  springs  from 
♦he  interchange  of  affection  between  the  s®ul  and  its 


SERMON  XIIL  287 

Redeemer?  What  joy  to  behold  his  smiling  face 
and  pour  out  before  him  the  warm  effusions  of  the 
heart  ?  Yes  !  in  every  situation  of  life  the  exercise 
of  love  to  Christ  affords  the  purest  satisfaction,  but 
its  effects  are  more  especially  seen  in  those  seasons 
when  earthly  loves  can  profit  us  little,  in  affliction, 
in  death,  m  judgment. 

When  adversity  presses  hard  upon  us,  and  the 
clouds  of  affliction  lower  around,  he  who  has  placed 
his  supreme  affection  upon  the  earth,  must  be  un- 
happy. When  worldly  enjoyments  are  wrested  from 
him  he  must  cry  out  with  the  Danite,  "  Ye  have 
taken  away  my  gods,  and  what  have  I  more  ?"— 
How  different  the  situation  of  him  whose  soul  glows 
with  love  to  Christ !  Like  Job  when  bereft  of  every 
temporal  delight  he  can  look  upward  and  behold  his 
Redeemer  living:  he  can  exclaim,  "  I  have  still  a 
friend  to  go  to  who  has  wisdom  to  guide  me  in  my 
perplexities,  who  has  mercy  to  solace  me  in  my  suf- 
ferings, who  has  power  to  deliver  me  from  my  dis- 
tresses, and  who  has  engaged  to  deliver  me  so  soon 
as  it  shall  be  best  for  me.  This  tender  friend  be- 
holds me  contending  with  sorrows,  and  he  mingles 
with  them  the  consolations  of  grace ;  why  should 
I  repine  or  be  dejected  ?  I  have  always  found  that 
his  help  is  nearest,  that  his  sympathy  is  greatest, 
when  earthly  supports  have  been  torn  from  me.  In 
such  seasons  I  have  often  found  him  charming  my 
igr'tefs  to  ypQt,  and  causing  me  to  rise  above  the 

Vf 


2b8  SERMON  XIII. 

pressure  of  outward  sorrows.     The  remembrance  - 
of  his  past  goodness  inspires  me  with  confidence  in 
my  present  sufferings ;  and  knowing  that  he  loves 
me  better  than  I  love  myself,  I  lean  without  dis 
quietude    on  his   promises,    his  providence,  and 
grace." 

Pass  from  the  season  of  affliction  to  the  hour  of 
death.  When  the  man  who  has  no  love  for  the 
Saviour  comes  to  this  eventful  hour,  his  situation  is 
indeed  dreadfuL  He  is  about  to  be  torn  from  all 
that  he  loved  and  valued  :  earth  recedes  from  his 
eyes,  and  with  it  recede  all  his  enjoyments :  he 
struggles  still  to  remain,  but  the  stronger  arm  of 
death  prevails,  and  pulls  his  shuddering,  reluctant 
soul  into  unknown  and  unloved  regions.  How  dif- 
ferent are  the  sentiments  of  him  whose  soul  burns 
with  love  to  Christ !  "  Behold  me  then,"  he  ex- 
claims, "  just  ready  to  touch  the  object  of  my  hopes 
and  desires ;  just  ready  to  enter  into  the  presence 
of  that  Saviour  whom,  though  now  I  see  him  not, 
I  love  ;  beholding  whom  I  shall  rejoice  with  joy 
unspeakable  and  full  of  glory.  Vain  world  !  I  quit 
you  without  regret ;  I  leave  you  with  joy.  My  soul 
is  flying  to  its  centre,  (s  returning  to  its  rest.  Death ! 
let  the  wicked  tremble  at  thee  ;  I  hail  thee  as  my 
friend.  Why,  why  dost  thou  delay  thy  stroke? 
The  vpice  of  my  beloved  calls  me,  and  my  heart 
longs  to  rest  in  his  embraces."  It  is  with  such 
transports  of  joy  and  holy  impatience  that  his  soul 


SERMON  XIII.  289 

leaps  into  the  presence  of  God,  that  his  heart  springs 
into  the  arms  of  Jesus. 

And  when  the  trump  of  God  shall  assemble  the 
world  ^o  be  judged,  oh  !  what  pleasure  will  it  af- 
ford to  remember  that  our  Judge  is  our  friend  ;  how 
will  this  enable  us  to  stand  unappalled  amidst  the 
shrieks  of  the  despairing,  and  the  dissolution  of 
worlds.  Oh !  will  it  be  worth  nothing  to  have  a 
warm  affection  for  the  Redeemer  at  that  decisive  day 
when  we  shall  feel  all  the  emphasis  of  that  apostolic 
denunciation,  "  If  any  man  love  not  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  let  him  be  anathema-maranatha,"  (I  Cor. 
xvi.  22)  accursed  when  the  Lord  comes.  The 
great  point  of  examination  for  those  who  have  en- 
joyed the  gospel,  then  will  be,  whether  they  have 
truly  loved  the  Saviour ;  and  if  we  be  found  without 
this  grace,  either  omnipotence  must  be  subdued,  or 
we  be  cast  down  into  hell.  But  while  the  doom  of 
those  who  neglect'  the  Redeemer  shall  be  so  awful, 
his  friends  shall  view  him  with  adoring  gratitude, 
and  shout,  "  Lo,  this  is  our  God  ;  we  have  waited 
for  him,  and  he  will  save  us  ;  this  is  the  Lord,  we 
have  waited  for  him,  we  will  be  glad  and  rejoice  in 
his  salvation."  They  shall  hear  from  his  lips  those 
cheering  words,  "  Enter  ye  into  the  joy  of  your 
Lord;"  and  shall  love  him  throughout  eternity 
without  weariness,  without  intermission,  withou-t 
imperfection. 


SERMON  XIV. 

REMEMBRANCE  of  the  LOVE  ot  CHRIST. 

A     SACRAMENTAL    DISCOURSE* 

Canticles  i.  4. 

"  We  will  remember  thy  hveP 

"  IF  I  forget  thee,  O  Jerusalem,"  exclaimed 
the  pious  Levite  when  at  a  distance  from  his  be- 
loved country  and  in  captivity  at  Babylon  ;  "  If  I 
forget  thee,  O  Jerusalem,  let  my  right  hand  forget 
her  cunning :  if  I  do  not  remember  thee,  let  my 
tongue  cleave  to  the  roof  of  ray  mouth  :  if  I  prefer 
not  Jerusalem  before  my  chief  joy."  With  how 
much  greater  warmth  and  energy  should  christians, 
who  are  here  below  in  a  state  of  exile  from  their 
true  country  and  weighed  down  by  fetters  of  flesh, 
pronounce  similar  vows  with  respect  to  their  Re- 
deemer. Since  it  is  through  the  blood  of  his  cross 
that  every  temporal  enjoyment,  every  spiritual  pri- 
vilege, every  eternal  hope  flows  to  them :  since 
from  it  result  all  that  they  have,  all  that  they  are, 
and  all  that  they  expect,  with  what  emphasis  should 
they  cry,  "  If  I  forget  thee,  compassionate  Saviour, 
let  my  right  hand  forget  her  cunning :  if  I  dovnot 
frcmembtr  thee,  bleeding,  suffering  Jesus,  let  my 


SERMON  XIV.  291 

tongue  cleave  to  the  roof  of  my  mouth  :  if  I  pre- 
fer not  thee  before  my  chief  joy."  These  should 
be  our  habitual  sentiments  ;  we  should  never  forget 
the  glories  or  the  mercies  of  that  Redeemer  who 
has  ransomed  us  with  his  blood  :  but  especially  on 
such  a  season  as  the  present  when  we  have  met  to- 
gether to  celebrate  a  sacrament  which  was  instituted 
by  those  tender  and  solemn  words,  M  Do  this  in  re- 
membrance of  me,"  a  sacrament  whose  great  design 
it  is  to  be  a  memorial  of  the  dying  love  of  Christ, 
pn  such  a  season  we  should  surely  drive  from  our 
minds  all  inferior  objects,  and  centre  our  thoughts 
and  desires  solely  on  the  mercy  and  kindness  of  our 
Lorcor  On  such  a  season  we  should  resolve  with  the 
mystical  spouse,  **  We  will  remember  thy  love.'* 
Be  still  then,  worldly  cares,  solicitudes,  and  plea- 
sures, while  we  meditate  on  the  grace  of  our  Saviour: 
awake  up,  every  faculty  of  our  soul,  whilst  we  are 
considering  this  delightful  subject.  And  do  thou, 
blessed  Jesus,  assist  us  by  thy  grace  ;  give  us  clearer 
views  and  a  more  feeling  sense  of  thy  wondrous  love: 
may  it  fill  us  with  admiration,  gratitude,  and  affec- 
tion, and  constrain  us  to  offer  ourselves  to  thee  at 
thy  table,  a  holy  and  a  living  sacrifice.     Amen. 

As  it  is  the  spouse  of  Christ  who  utters  the  words 
of  our  text,  it  is  plain  that  the  love  of  which  she 
speaks,  does  not  mean  that  general  love  of  benevo- 
lence which  the  Redeemer  entertains  for  all  man- 
kind, but  that  intimate,  special,  complacential  re- 


292  SERMON  XIV. 

gard  which  he  indulges  towards  his  real  followers. 
Taking  the  text  in  this,  which  is  obviously  its  true 
sense,  we  shall 

I.  Enquire  into  the  nature  of  the  Saviour's  special 
love. 

II.  Prove  that  it  is  the  duty  of  christians  to  re- 
member it. 

III.  Shew  how  this  remembrance  should  regulate 
the  sentiments  of  the  heart,  the  words  of  the  mouth, 
and  the  actions  of  the  life, 

» 
I.  We  are  to  enquire  into  the  nature  of  the  Sa- 
viours special  love.  And  here,  my  brethren,  I  so 
much  feel  my  insufficiency  to  do  justice  to  this  part 
of  my  discourse,  that  fearful  of  degrading  it  by  my 
feeble  representations,  I  am  almost  ready  to  leave  it 
unhandled.  "  The  angels"  themselves,  as  the 
apostle  informs  us,  "  desire  to  look  into  it ;"  in  con- 
templating it,  they  feel  the  weakness  of  created  wis- 
dom ;  they  feel  that  nothing  but  Divinity  can  com- 
prehend the  full  extent  of  divine  love.  Standing  on 
the  brink  of  this  abyss  of  mercy,  these  exalted  in- 
telligences cast  forth  their  most  penetrative  views ; 
but  unable  to  fathom  it,  are  constrained  to  exclaim 
with  adoring  wonder,  "  O  the  depth  of  the  riches 
of  the  goodness  of  Christ!"  If  angels  then,  who 
dwell  in  the  source  of  light,  whose  capacities  are  so 


SERMON  XIV.  293 

inconceivably  expanded,  find  nevertheless  their  con- 
ceptions too  limited  properly  to  estimate  a  Saviour's 
love,  and  their  tongues  too  weak  worthily  to  cele- 
brate it — O  how  little  can  poor  ignorant  mortals 
know! 

But  whilst  this  reflection  would  discourage  us 
from  proceeding,  let  a  sense  of  duty  and  the  pleas- 
antness of  the  task,  induce  us  to  follow  the  guidings 
of  the  holy  scriptures,  and  to  enquire  into  the  pro- 
perties of  the  Saviour's  special  love. 

1.  This  love  is  everlasting  ;  that  is  to  say,  it  did 
not  commence  in  time,  but  existed  from  eternity  ; 
and  it  will  not  terminate  while  eternity  endures  : 
like  its  divine  source  it  has  neither  "  beginning  of 
days  nor  end  of  years." 

That  the  special  love  of  Christ  towards  his  chil- 
dren has  existed  from  eternity,  is  proved  by  all  those 
texts  which  speak  of  the  everlasting  covenant  be- 
tween the  persons  of  the  Most  Sacred  Trinity  for 
the  Redemption  of  man,  and  of  the  consent  of  the 
Son  to  become  our  pledge  and  surety.  It  is  proved 
by  all  those  texts  which  speak  of  him,  as  having  his 
delight  with  the  children  of  men,  and  as  a  Lamb 
slain  in  the  counsel  of  God  before  the  foundation  of 
the  world.  It  is  proved  by  all  those  texts  which 
speak  of  "  the  choice  of  his  people  according  to  the 
eternal  purpose  which  the  Father  purposed  in  him." 


294  SERMON  XIV. 

I  do  not  enlarge  on  this  part ;  I  merely  mention 
this  fact  that  it  may  warm  and  enliven  our  devotions ; 
for  say,  christians,  what  strains  can  rise  sufficiently 
high  to  celebrate  such  love  as  this  ?  Shall  a  few 
faint  and  interrupted  emotions  of  gratitude  be  es- 
teemed a  sufficient  return  for  that  rich  tide  of  divine 
love,  which,  having  no  source  in  time,  springing 
from  the  abyss  of  everlastingness,  runs  parallel  with 
the  duration  of  God  ?  Shall  nothing  but  a  few  tran- 
sient remembrances  be  given  for  an  affection  which 
resided  in  the  heart  of  the  Saviour,  before  a  single 
note  of  adoration  to  Ms  Maker  had  fallen  from  the 
harp  of  the  first-created  seraph  ;  before  "  the  morn- 
ing stars  had  sung  together"  at  the  birth  of  nature ; 
or  "  the  sons  of  God,"  the  splendid  host  of  angels 
had  "  shouted  for  joy"  at  the  manifestation  of  crea- 
tive power  :  for  an  affection  which  thought  of  us 
with  compassion,  and  devised  the  stupendous  plan 
of  salvation  long,  long  before  we  started  from  the 
womb  of  nothingness ;  long  before  time  begun  its 
course,  and  when  nothing  existed  throughout  the 
universe  but  the  presence  and  perfections  of  the 
adorable  Trinity  ?  No,  my  dear  brethren,  let  our 
whole  "  souls  and  all  that  is  within  us"  unite. in 
shouting  praises  to  that  Saviour,  whose  "  mercy  is 
from  everlasting  to  everlasting  unto  them  that  fear 
him." 

This  mercy  is  "  to  everlasting:"  It  is  fixed  and 
unchangeable,  and  like  its  author,  "  is  the  same  to- 


SERMON  XIV.  5295 

day,  yesterday,  and  forever."  "  The  mountains 
shall  depart,  and  the  hills  be  removed,  but  my  lov- 
ing kindness  shall  not  depart  from  thee ;  neither 
shall  the  covenant  of  my  peace  be  removed ;  saith 
the  Lord  that  hath  mercy  on  thee."  "  In  a  little 
wrath  he  may  hide  his  face  from  his  children  for  a 
moment  ;  but  with  everlasting  kindness  will  he 
have  mercy  upon  them,  saith  the  Lord  their  Re- 
deemer. If  they  break  his  statutes  and  keep  not 
his  commandments,  then  will  he  visit  their  trans- 
gressions with  the  rod,  and  their  iniquity  with 
stripes ;  nevertheless  his  loving-kindness  will  he 
not  utterly  take  from  them,  nor  suffer  his  faithful- 
ness  to  fail."  That  love  which  drew  them  to  re<- 
pentance  when  they  were  wandering  from  God, 
shall  much  more  preserve  them  when  they  are 
penitent,  and  shall  never  be  taken  from  them.  Oth- 
er unions  may  be  dissolved  ;  the  union  between  soul 
and  body,  intimate  as  it  is,  must  for  a  time  cease  at 
death  ;  but  the  union  between  Christ  and  believers, 
never  will  be  dissolved  :  neither  life  nor  death 
shall  be  able  to  separate  them  from  him.  Friends 
and  connexions  may  be  taken  from  us  ;  but  whilst 
our  tears  flow  because  the  ties  which  united  them  to 
us  are  broken  asunder,  and  the  hearts  which  once 
beat  high  with  affection  to  us  lie  cold  and  senseless 
in  the  grave,  we  are  consoled  by  the  recollection 
that  Jesus  still  lives,  still  lives  for  us,  still  lives  to 
make  us  happy  by  his  love.  "  Having  loved  his 
own,  he  will  love  them  to  the  end  ;"  to  the  end  of 


296  SERMON  XIV. 

life,  to  the  end  of  time,  throughout  eternity.  Though 
man,  the  slave  of  error,  whim  and  caprice,  may 
become  the  relentless  enemy  of  his  fellow-man 
-whom  he  once  caressed  as  a  friend,  yet  Jesus  will 
"  set  his  friends  as  a  seal  upon  his  heart,"  and  "  pre- 
serve them  by  his  power  through  faith  unto  salva- 
tion." Long  after  the  angel  of  the  Lord  "  shall 
have  lifted  up  his  hand  to  heaven,  and  sworn  by  Him 
who  liveth  forever  and  ever,  that  time  shall  be  no 
longer;"  long  after  the  earth  shall  have  been  con- 
sumed by  the  flames  of  the  judgment-day,  shall 
3rou  believers,  received  to  the  palace  of  the  King 
of  kings,  enjoy  those  raptures  which  result  from  your 
Redeemer's  love  ;  and  as  your  souls  shall  continu- 
ally dilate  and  your  capacities  enlarge,  so  shall  the 
manifestations  of  his  kindness  be  more  abundant, 
and  your  joys  more  elevated  and  full.  O  how  pre- 
cious is  such  a  Saviour !  how  inestimable  is  such 
unfailing  love  !  Let  the  men  of  the  world  busy  them- 
selves in  the  eager  pursuit  of  perishable  vanities. 
Alas  !  when  "  the  fashion  of  this  world  shall  have 
passed  away,"  with  what  bitter,  what  unavailing 
anguish  will  they  lament  that  they  did  not  secure  an 
eternal  love  on  which  their  eternal  souls  might  rest. 

2.  The  love  of  Christ  is  ?nost  generous  ;  since  it 
was  undeserved,  unsolicited,  and  disinterested. 

It  was  undeserved.     This  necessarily  results  from 
the  former  property.     Before  we  existed,  nothing 


SERMON  XIV  29? 

could  be  due  unto  us  :  a  love  therefore  which  had 
respect  to  us  from  eternity,  must  be  unmerited. 
Besides,  believers  as  well  as  others  are  born  corrupt- 
ed and  defiled,  with  no  loveliness  to  excite  the  affec- 
tion of  a  holy  Redeemer.  Believers,  as  well  as 
others,  are  •'  by  nature  children  of  wrath ;"  and 
before  their  renovation  by  his  blessed  Spirit,  lived 
in  a  constant  course  of  enmity  and  disobedience  to 
God.  Surely  such  persons  could  merit  nothing 
from  the  Saviour.  I  mistake ;  they  merited  much  : 
they  merited  the  flames  of  divine  wrath,  eternal 
perdition  in  hell.  Yet  even  in  this  condition,  Jesus 
communicated  to  them  the  riches  of  his  love  and 
the  blessings  of  his  covenant.  But  why  do  I  stop 
to  prove  that  the  love  of  Christ  is  undeserved.  It 
is  a  truth  which  is  written  on  almost  every  page  of 
the  scriptures  with  a  sun-beam  :  The  great  object 
of  this  sacred  volume  is  to  point  out  the  free  grace 
of  the  Saviour,  as  the  only  hope  of  the  guilty,  the 
undeserving,  and  the  perishing.  Christians,  your 
sentiments  accord  with  these  representations.  Yon 
abhor  the  thoughts  of  being  saved  otherwise  than 
by  free  and  unmerited  grace  :  you  joyfully  lie  down 
in  the  dust,  that  the  crown  may  be  placed  upon  the 
head  of  your  Saviour :  you  renounce  ail  self-ri<rht- 
eousness  and  self-dependence,  and  build  your  hopes 
on  undeserved  mercy.  Alas !  ill  would  be  our  lot, 
did  the  Saviour  regulate  his  love  to  us  by  our  me- 
rits !  How  soon  would  he  dart  forth  his  thunders 
-and  sink  us  in  the  flames  ?  My  brethren,  how  much 


2i38  SERMON  XIV. 

does  this  trait  ennoble  the  love  of  the  Saviour.  He 
was  moved,  not  by  our  merits,  but  by  our  miseries  ; 
he  had  compassion  upon  us,  though  we  were  ene- 
mies, rebels,  slaves  of  satan,  heirs  of  hell. 

But  though  we  were  thus  undeserving,  yet  per- 
haps our  solicitations  were  so  strong  as  to  move 
him  to  this  display  of  mercy  ?  By  no  means— for  it 
is  a  new  proof  of  the  generosity  of  this  love  that  it 
was  unsolicited.  What  creature  urged  him  to  un- 
dertake for  sinners,  and  to  enter  into  that  stipulation 
with  the  Father,  which  was  made  infinite  ages  before 
a  creature  lived  ?  In  answer  to  what  petition  of  mor- 
tals was  it  that  he  cried,  "  Lo,  I  come  ;"  I  come 
to  fulfil  thy  law  and  undergo  its  penalty  :  "I  delight 
to  do  thy  will,  my  God  ?"  Who  is  the  mortal  that 
ever  offered  to  the  eternal  Son  a  prayer  to  descend 
from  his  throne  and  assume  our  nature  ?  No,  no  t 
It  was  his  own  self-moving  goodness  which  alone 
induced  him  thus  to  act.  He  saw  that  we  were 
perishing,  and  without  waiting  for  our  cries,  reach* 
ed  forth  deliverance  and  proffered  us  salvation. 

But  was  not  the  Saviour  induced  thus  to  act  by 
interested  or  selfish  views  ?  No !  his  love  was  en- 
tirely disinterested.  The  Creator  of  all  things,  crea- 
tures could  not  add  to  his  glory  :  possessed  of  in- 
finite happiness,  we  could  not  increase  his  felicity. 
He  enjoyed  supreme  beatitude  from  the  immensity 
of  his  own  being  and  perfections,  and  from  the  bo- 


SERMON  XIV.  .299 

som  of  his  Father,  before  we  had  an  existence  ;  and 
he  would  have  retained  this  beatitude,  though  we 
had  never  lived.  He  had  then  no  selfish  motive  to 
Jead  him  to  interest  himself  for  us  :  it  was  only  the 
overflowings  of  his  benevolence  which  made  him 
interpose  in  our  behalf.  And  does  not  such  love 
deserve  love  ?  shall  we  bury  such  kindness  in  un- 
grateful forgetfulness  ? 

n 

2.  This  is  an  efficient  and  powerful  love.  How- 
ever sincere  the  affection  of  mortals  for  us  may  be, 
yet  so  impotent  are  they  that  they  can  supply  but 
an  inconsiderable  portion  of  our  wants,  or  afford  us 
but  a  trifling  share  of  blessedness.  We  have  the 
guilt  of  sin  to  be  purged  from  our  conscience ;  the 
dominion  of  sin  to  be  overthrown  in  our  souls ;  the 
punishment  of  sin  to  be  averted  from  us.  We  have 
a  God  offended  by  our  iniquities,  to  whom  we  must 
be  reconciled  ;  an  unholy  heart  to  be  sanctified  ; 
the  christian  graces  to  be  implanted  and  cherished. 
We  have  to  conflict  with  the  king  of  terrors  ;  to 
pass  into  an  awful  eternity.  We  have  the  diversifi- 
ed needs  of  an  indigent  nature  to  be  satisfied ;  the 
void  of  a  heart  which  sighs  after  perfect  felicity  to 
be  filled.  Where  can  we  find  succours  sufficient 
for  the  supply  of  these  necessities,  and  the  attainment 
of  these  blessings  ?  Where,  merciful  Saviour,  but 
in  thy  powerful  love  ?  If  conscience  condemn  us> 
his  peace-speaking  blood  can  assure  us,  and  enable 


500  SERMON  XIV. 

us  to  shout  with  the  apostle,  "  Who  shall  lay  any 
thing  to  the  charge  of  God's  elect  ?"  If  our  corrup- 
tions rage  and  struggle,  his  Spirit  can  subdue  them, 
and  render  us  more  than  conquerors  over  them.  If 
the  curses  of  the  broken  covenant  hang  over  us,  and 
hell  gape  to  receive  us,  yet  sheltered  in  his  wounds, 
no  curse  can  smite  us,  no  flames  kindle  around  us. 
If  we  tremble  to  look  upwards  to  an  offended  Judge;, 
we  are  comforted  when  we  reflect  that  "  he  hath  re- 
conciled us  to  God  in  the  body  of  his  flesh  through 
death."  If  we  groan  over  an  unholy  heart,  he  has 
power  to  mould  it  anew  and  to  fill  it  with  the  chris- 
tian graces.  If  we  be  called  to  pass  through  the  gloomy 
vale  of  death,  this  Sun  of  righteousness  can  enlighten 
it,  and  cause  us  even  there  to  "  lift  up  our  heads, 
knowing  that  our  redemption  drawcth  nigh."  If 
we  go  into  a  strange  and  unknown  world,  he  can 
there  fill  our  souls  with  joys  far  above  all  our  thoughts 
or  desires.  O  blessed  period,  when  will  it  ar- 
rive !  Then,  and  not  till  then  shall  we  be  able  to 
see  the  power  of  that  love,  which  stormed  and  van- 
quished our  obstinate  hearts ;  which  overcame  our 
raging  lusts  and  corruptions  ;  which  threw  open  the 
doors  of  heaven  for  our  reception,  and  closed  the 
gates  of  hell  against  us ;  which  drew  us  up  to  glory 
through  a  host  of  furious  devils  and  ungodly  men. 
O  let  us  now  begin  to  shout  those  hallelujahs  which 
will  then  dwell  upon  our  tongue,  and  to  sing,  "Unto 
him  that  hath  loved  us,  and  washed  us  from  0112 


SERMON  XIV.  301 

sins  in  his  own  blood,  and  made  us  kings  and  priests 
unto  God,  to  him  be  glory  and  dominion  forever." 

4.  Finally,  to  crown  all  these  properties,  this 
love  was  painful  and  suffering.  Jesus  did  not  con- 
tent himself  to  display  his  kindness  only  by  words 
or  by  deeds  which  cost  him  nothing.  His  love  has 
stronger  proofs  ;  it  is  attested  by  the  sorrows  to 
which  it  induced  him  chearfully  to  submit.  These 
sorrows  were  incalculable  in  number,  and  incon- 
ceivable in  degree  :  every  step  that  he  took  through 
life  from  the  sordid  manger  to  the  bloody  cross,  was 
marked  with  misery.  Poverty,  pain,  reproaches,  slan- 
ders, these  were  his  ordinary  portion ;  and  to  consum- 
mate it  all,  he  closes  his  mortal  life  in  ignominy  and 
pain.  Let  us  turn  aside  for  a  moment  and  behold 
this  great  sight.  Christians,  raise  your  eyes  to  the 
accursed  cross  ;  behold  extended  upon  it  the  eter- 
nal Lord,  the  Creator  of  heaven  and  earth,  the 
Judge  of  quick  and  dead.  Why  does  he  remain  hang- 
ing upon  it  ?  By  a  single  word  he  could  cause  the 
nails  which  fasten  him,  to  drop,  and  the  soldiers, 
who  guard  him,  to  sink  in  the  agonies  of  death. 
Ah  !  christians  !  he  is  retained  by  stronger  bonds ; 
he  is  secured  by  safer  guards :  the  firm  cords  of 
love  fasten  him  to  the  cross  ;  the  eternal  purposes 
of  mercy  form  that  powerful  guard  which  even  his 
omnipotence  cannot  resist.  Behold  his  livid  mouth* 
his  hands  and  his  feet  changed  into  streams  of  blood, 


302  SERMON  XIV. 

his  whole  frame  torn  by  the  scourge,  the  nails,  and 
spear.    View  the  crowd  which  surround  this  victim 
of  love ;  and  listen  to  their  reproaches,  their  con- 
tumelies and  curses.  Do  you  shudder  at  considering 
these  woes  ?  Alas !  this  was  but  the  smallest  part  of 
what  the  Saviour  underwent.     These  outward  tor- 
tures were  joy,  were  extacy,  compared  to  the  agonies 
of  his  soul.     Standing  as  the  substitute  of  sinners 
he  endured  the  wrath  of  God  due  to  sin  ;  wrath 
which  none  but  he  who  was  united  to  the  Godhead 
could  have  sustained.     So  inconceivable,  so  infinite 
were  the  woes  of  his  soul,  as  by  their  endurance  for 
a  few  hours,  to  counterpoise  the  everlasting  damna- 
tion of  all  the  millions  of  the  redeemed,  who  shall 
hereafter  surround  his  throne.     To  all  this,  Jesus 
submitted  for  you.    These  were  the  powerful  proofs 
of  his  love ;  the  tender  expressions  of  his  mercy  : 
he  joyfully  consented  to  lay  down  his  life,  that  you 
might  live  eternally  ;  to  be  painfully  crucified,  that 
you  might  be  glorified. 

Such  is  the  nature  of  that  love  to  which  the  spouse 
has  respect,  when  she  cries,  "  We  will  remember 
thy  love."  That  it  is  our  duty  to  imitate  her  reso- 
lution, and  like  her  to  remember  this  rich  love,  is 
to  be  shewn  in  the 

lid.  "Division  of  our  discourse. 


SERMON  XIV.  303 

It  may  seem  almost  unnecessary,  my  brethren, 
formally  to  prove  this  truth  :  It  may  seem  that  it  is 
so  firmly  established  by  the  impulse  of  feeling,  as  to 
render  any  reasoning  useless.  Nevertheless,  as  we 
see  there  are  many  who  entirely  forget  the  grace  of 
the  Saviour ;  as  we  all  of  us  are  too  cold  and  infrequent 
in  our  recollections  of  it,  it  will  not  be  improper  or 
unprofitable,  to  consider  for  a  few  minutes-  these  two 
ideas : 

It  is  the  duty  of  believers  to  remember  the  love 
of  Christ,  because 

1.  All  those  circumstances  which  tend  to  produce 
permanent  and  firm  impressions  upon  the  memory, 
are  to  be  found  in  this  love  ;  and  because 

2.  The  remembrance  and  sense  of  this  love,  i& 
the  fountain  whence  all  holy  actions  and  good  de- 
sires proceed. 

1.  All  those  circumstances  which  tend  to  produce 
permanent  and  firm  impressions  upon  the  memory, 
are  to  be  found  in  this  love. 

We  carefully  observe  and  faithfully  remember 
those  things  that  are  wonderful ;  those  things  which 
are  calculated  to  excite  our  love  ;  and  those  which 
are  absolutely  necessary  for  us. 


3.0*4  SEftMON  XIV. 

We  carefully  observe  and  faithfully  remember 
those  things  that  are  wonderful  and  beyond  the  or- 
dinary course  of  nature  "Common  events  pass 
through  the  mind  as  common  persons  through  the 
streets,  without  attracting  particular  notice  ;"  whilst 
those  events  that  are  rare  and  astonishing,  fasten 
upon  the  mind,  and  leave  a  durable  impression. 
Now  where  can  a  greater  complication  of  wonders 
be  discerned,  than  in  the  love  of  your  Redeemer  ? 
Examine  it  in  every  part,  and  you  will  find  prodi- 
gies which  nature  cannot  parallel.  That  the  second 
person  of  the  adorable  Trinity,  should  leave  .his 
heaven  and  dwell  with  agonies,  that  God  might  be 
reconciled  to  us  ;  that  the  Eternal,  should  become 
an  infant  of  days  ;  the  Infinite,  be  circumscribed  by 
a  human  body  ;  the  Essentially  Blessed,  be  the  man 
of  sorrows  ;  the  Ruler  of  the  Universe,  the  babe  of 
Bethlehem  :  are  not  these  sufficiently  wonderful  to 
arrest  the  attention  and  to  fix  the  remembrance  ? 
That  he  who  is  God,  should  be  forsaken  by  God  ; 
that  he  who  is  inseparably  united  to  the  source  of 
blessedness,  should  be  sorrowful  and  distressed ; 
that  by  a  painful  and  ignominious  death,  heaven 
should  be  unbarred,  the  flames  of  hell  quenched,  the 
world,  the  flesh,  and  the  devil,  vanquished — Behold 
a  small  part  of  the  wonders  which  marked  the  love 
of  Christ ;  wonders  so  great,  that  at  beholding  them, 
nature  was  amazed ;  the  sun  in  sympathy  with  the 
source  of  its  light,  shrouded  himself  in  darkness, 
and  even  those  who  were  sleeping  in  the  tomb  sprang 


SERMON  XIV.  305 

into  new  life.  Surely  then  there  are  wonders  enough, 
connected  with  the  love  of  the  Saviour,  to  cause  us 
constantly  to  remember  it. 

We  easily  retain  and  frequently  meditate  on  all 
those  things  which  excite  our  love.  Do  we  love 
any  object  ?  Memory  constantly  presents  it  to  us : 
in  our  more  retired  moments,  and  even  amidst  the 
bustle  of  the  world,  the  object  of  our  attachment  is 
the  theme  of  our  meditation.  Now,  what  is  more 
calculated  to  excite  our  love  than  the  love  of  Christ? 
It  contains  in  an  inconceivable  degree,  every  thing 
that  can  engage  the  soul.  If  we  compare  with  him 
any  earthly  objects  of  affection,  how  infinitely  inferior 
do  they  appear  ?  Ought  not  then  the  perfection,  the 
infinitude,  the  utility  of  his  love,  to  obtain  love  from 
us  ?  And  if  we  love  him,  we  must  remember  him. 
No  business  can  be  so  urgent,  no  sorrows  so  op- 
pressive, no  cares  so  weighty,  as  to  make  us  forget 
a  Saviour  who  is  beloved.  In  the  intercourse  with 
our  fellow-men  our  thoughts  will  frequently  be  di- 
rected to  him  ;  and  when  the  world  is  shut  out  from 
our  closets,  he  will  still  be  present,  will  be  the  sub- 
ject of  our  reflections,  the  centre  towards  which  our 
souls  will  run. 

We  easily  remember  those  things  that  are  benefi- 
cial to  us,  and  necessary  for  us.  And  what  is  there 
so  beneficial,  so  necessary  as  the  love  of  Christ  ?  If 
it  be  beneficial  to  be  delivered  from  the  power  and 


306  SERMON  XIV, 

punishment  of  sin,  to  be  made  like  unto  God,  to  b£ 
fashioned  on  no  lower  pattern  than  that  of  the  all- 
perfect  Jehovah,  to  enjoy  a  felicity  infinite  in  degree, 
eternal  in  duration  :  if  these  things  be  beneficial, 
and  if  things  which  are  beneficial  deserve  our  re- 
membrance, then  surely  we  should  remember  the 
love  of  Christ,  which  procured  all  this  for  us.  If  it 
be  necessary  for  our  felicity  to  be  shielded  from  the 
vengeance  of  God,  to  be  rescued  from  eternal  dam- 
nation, to  be  saved  from  those  woes  which  no 
tongue  can  describe,  no  heart  can  conceive,  then 
surely  the  love  of  Christ,  which  procured  this  ex- 
emption, should  never  escape  from  our  mind.  In- 
finitely more  reasonable  would  it  be  to  forget  our 
dearest  earthly  friends,  our  highest  temporal  enjoy- 
ments, the  things  absolutely  necessary  for  the  pres- 
ervation of  our  life,  than  to  forget  the  love  of  our 
Saviour. 

2.  We  are  bound  to  remember  the  love  of  Christ, 
because  the  remembrance  and  sense  of  this  love, 
is  the  fountain  whence  all  holy  actions  and  good 
desires  proceed.  It  is  this  love  which  animates  the 
christian  to  obedience ;  it  is  this  love  which,  in  the 
strong  language  of  the  apostle,  "  constraineth  him" 
to  labour  for  his  master.  Look  over  all  the  exer- 
cises of  the  christian,  and  you  will  find  them  as 
closely  connected  with  the  Saviour's  love,  as  the 
nerve  is  with  the  member  which  it  moves.  Doe^ 
the  christian  exercise  love  to  Qod?  He  is  enabled 

1 


SERMON  XIV,  30? 

to  do  it  from  a  believing  view  of  a  bleeding  Saviour. 
Faith  contemplates  this  gift  of  a  Father's  love,  and 
the  soul  is  ravished  into  love,  and  inflamed  with  a 
desire  of  serving  and  enjoying  him  who  spared 
not  the  Son  of  his  bosom  for  us.  Does  the  chris- 
tian exercise  hatred  for  sin?  It  is  from  the 
sufferings  of  Christ  that  he  discerns  its  infinite  guilt 
and  odiousness :  it  is  from  viewing  it  as  the  mur- 
derer of  his  Lord  that  he  is  led  to  execrate  and  avoid 
it.  "  Shall  I  remain  in  sin,"  this  is  his  language, "  shall 
I  remain  in  sin  and  crucify  my  Lord  afresh  :  Shall 
I  join  with  Judas  to  betray  him,  with  Pilate  to  con- 
demn him,  with  the  brutal  populace  of  Judea  to 
outrage  and  insult  him :  Shall  I  retain  a  single  darl- 
ing lust,  when  there  is  not  one  in  the  whole  circle 
of  iniquities  which  did  not  combine  with  the  others 
to  crucify  my  Redeemer ;  not  one  which  did  not 
weigh  him  down  in  the  garden,  and  stab  him  on  the 
cross  ?"  Does  the  christian  exercise  patience  and  re- 
signation  in  afflictions  ?  He  is  enabled  to  do  so  only 
by  looking  unto  Jesus.  He  is  "  not  wearied,  neither 
faints  in  his  mind,  because  he  considers  him  who," 
urged  by  love,  "  endured  such  contradictions  of 
sinners  against  himself."  He  would  often  sink, 
were  it  not  for  the  remembrance  that  he  has  a  merci- 
ful and  affectionate  high-priest,  who  has  gone  before 
him  in  the  path  of  sufferings,  and  who  having  been 
tried  like  as  we  are,  knows  how  to  pity  and  re- 
lieve us  when  we  are  tried.  In  our  weakness  and 
distresses,  the  consideration  of  this  love  is  a  firm 


308  SERMON  XIV, 

prop  to  the  soul ;  whilst  the  storm  rages  dreadfuf 
around  us,  it  is  an  ark  in  which  we  may  rest  in 
safety.  Does  the  christian  form  an  act  of  self -resig- 
nation to  God  ?  He  is  incited  to  do  it  by  the  remem- 
brance of  the  love  of  an  expiring  Jesus.  "  I  am  not 
my  own,  I  am  bought  with  a  price,  even  with  the 
precious  blood  of  Christ,  as  of  a  lamb  without  blem- 
ish and  without  spot.  Though  I  am  thine,  Lord, 
by  creation  and  preservation ;  yet  I  am  peculiarly 
thine,  by  the  endearing  title  founded  on  redeeming 
love  ;  I  therefore  resign  all  claims  to  myself  and  give 
myself  up  unreservedly  to  thee.',  Does  the  christian 
hope  for  the  heavenly  inheritance  ?  This  hope  is 
built  only  on  the  love  of  Christ,  who  having  paid  a 
ransom  for  our  sins  has  entered  into  glory  as  our 
forerunner,  to  prepare  there,  mansions  for  us ;  and 
who,  when  the  wearisome  period  of  our  pilgrimage 
shall  have  past,  will  send  his  messenger  to  carry  us 
from  this  world  to  the  Father.  If  you  will  in  like 
manner  review  the  other  christian  graces,  you  will 
find  that  they  have  the  remembrance  of  the  Saviour's 
love  as  their  root  and  their  principle.  Hence  it  re- 
sults then  as  a  necessary  consequence,  that  if  Chris- 
tianity be  any  thing  except  a  mere  name,  if  it  re- 
quire any  pious  acts  or  holy  exercises,  the  frequent 
remembrance  of  the  love  of  Christ  is  essential  to  it. 

But,  my  brethren,  it  is  not  every  species  of  re- 
membrance that  is  thus  useful.  Those  who  scorn- 
ed, derided,  crucified,  and  rejected  him,  will  through- 


SERMON  XIV.  309 

out  eternity  retain  the  memory  of  the  love  of  Christ, 
which  they  despised.  This  recollection  will  ever  at- 
tend them;  will  fill  them  with  anguish  unutterable,  will 
constitute  the  very  hell  of  hell.  The  remembrance 
which  the  spouse  in  the  text  resolves  to  exercise,  is 
not  such  a  mere  historical,  far  less  such  a  distress- 
ing memory ;  but  it  is  a  remembrance  accompanied 
by  gratitude  in  the  heart,  productive  of  the  praises 
of  the  lips,  and  manifested  by  the  obedience  of  the 
life.     Let  us  resume  these  ideas,  they  constitute  the 

III.  Last  division  of  our  discourse. 

Our  remembrance  must  be  accompanied  with 
gratitude  in  the  heart.  To  have  some  loose,  faint 
recollections  of  the  love  of  Christ  floating  in  the 
mind  ;  or  even  to  discourse  most  profoundly  upon 
it,  while  the  affections  remain  unmoved,  is  not  to 
perform  an  acceptable  service,  but  to  outrage  and 
insult  the  Saviour.  It  is  base  and  odious  to  suffer 
the  amazing  kindness  of  Jesus  to  escape  our  minds  ; 
but  to  meditate  on  his  grace,  on  the  benefits  procure 
ed  by  it,  on  the  price  they  cost  him,  and  yet  to  re- 
main unthankful,  is  conduct  worthy  only  of  a  fiend. 
Oh  !  what  warm  emotions  should  fire  our  souls, 
when  we  remember  but  a  small  part  of  the  effects 
produced  by  the  love  of  Christ.  Man  was  guilty, 
exposed  to  all  the  vengeance  of  an  Almighty  God  : 
he  was  destitute  of  all  means  to  preserve  himself 
from  eternal  death,  subject  not  only  to  the  terrors  of 


310  SERMON  XIV. 

conscience,  that  bosom  hell,  but  to  the  strokes  of 
infinite  and  inflexible  justice.  The  creatures  were 
his  enemies,  the  Creator  was  his  judge,  his  own 
heart  a  witness  against  him ;  there  was  no  other 
limit  to  his  misery  but  eternity  \  there  remained  to 
him  no  hope  of  succour  or  deliverance.  Jesus  flies 
to  his  aid ;  he  not  only  delivers  him  from  all  his 
miseries  ;  he  procures  for  him  an  eternal  felicity : 
and  he  obtains  this  deliverance  by  miseries  far 
more  excruciating,  than  mortals  can  conceive  :  O 
my  soul,  canst  thou  remember  all  this  without 
feeling  and  gratitude  ?  Does  not  this  astonishing 
mercy  require  from  thee  extacies  of  affection? 
Why  then  art  thou  so  cold  and  insensible  ?  Does 
God  require  too  much  of  thee,  when  he  demands  a 
thankful  remembrance  ?  This  duty  is  not  painful  > 
this  duty  is  the  source  of  the  highest  joy  :  dost  thou 
fly  from  pleasure,  my  soul  ?  The  reception  of  the 
benefits  of  thy  God  affords  satisfaction,  but  the  in- 
dulgence of  gratitude  for  them  produces  a  much 
higher  felicity.  Then  let  thy  transports  and  thy 
rapture  testify  that  thou  feelest  the  value  of  a  Sa- 
viour's love.  Go,  carry  thy  gratitude  to  the  throne  of 
God.  But,  eternal  Source  of  love  and  of  grace,  what 
shall  I  say  ?  I  feel  thy  benefits,  but  I  cannot  express 
them.  O  let  my  heart  ever  burn  with  gratitude  for 
them :  O  let  it  never  be  affected  by  other  enjoyments. 

2.  If  this  remembrance  be  thus  accompanied  by 
gratitude  in  the  heart,  it  will  manifest  itself  by  the 


SERMON  XIV.  311 

praises  of  the  lips  ;  it  will  shine  in  our  discourse. 
A  man  who  is  truly  affected  with  the  love  of  Jesus, 
cannot  content  himself  to  think  in  secret  of  this  love, 
and  neglect  to  declare  to  others,  the  sentiments  with 
Which  his  soul  is  inflamed  :  "  From  the  abundance 
of  his  heart,  his  mouth  will  speak."  Gratitude, 
which  loosed  the  tongue  of  Zechariah,  at  the  birth 
of  John  the  Baptist,  will  loose  his  tongue  also,  and 
cause  him  to  publish  the  mercies  and  perfections 
of  his  Lord.  He  loves  to  declare  in  the  temple  and 
m  the  world,  in  worship  and  in  conversation,  the 
blessings  he  has  received  from  his  compassionate 
Redeemer  :  he  is  desirous  to  employ,  in  the  praise 
of  the  Saviour,  the  best  part  of  the  breath  which  he 
has  received  from  his  goodness.  Like  David,  he 
says,  "  I  have  not  hid  thy  righteousness  within, 
my  heart ;  I  have  declared  thy  faithfulness  and  thy 
salvation;  I  have  not  concealed  thy  loving-kind- 
ness and  thy  truth,  from  the  great  congregation." 
The  believer,  far  from  being  ashamed  to  confess  his 
obligations,  invites  the  heavens  and  the  earth,  the 
different  classes  of  men,  all  creatures,  even  those 
that  are  inanimate,  to  join  in  the  concert  which  he 
wishes  to  form  to  the  glory  of  the  God  whom  he 
■adores,  and  the  Saviour  whom  he  loves.  After  all 
his  efforts,  he  is  afflicted  only  because  he  expresses  so 
Areebly  all  the  gratitude  and  affection  which  he  feel? 
for  his  Redeemer.  All !  my  brethren !  what  cause  of 
self-reproach  have  we  on  this  point ;  where  are  the 

persons  amongst  us,  whose  words  and  discoursed 

<U 


312  SERMON  XIV. 

prove  that  the  love  of  the  Saviour  has  made  a  pro* 
per  impression  upon  their  hearts  ?  How  many  mil- 
lions of  times  have  we  indulged  in  vain,  useless,  sin- 
ful conversations,  rather  than  speak  of  our  Saviour? 
Think  you  that  that  slanderous,  that  profane,  that 
indecent,  that  frivolous  language,  which  is  often 
observed  in  your  interviews,  affords  a  proof  that  you 
have  been  properly  affected  by  the  love  of  Christ  1 

3.  Finally,  to  these  emotions  of  the  heart,  to 
these  words  of  the  mouth,  must  be  added  the  ac- 
tions of  the  life,  if  we  would  manifest  a  true  remem* 
brance  of  the  love  of  the  Saviour.  In  the  language 
of  the  scripture,  to  forget  God  and  to  sin  against 
him,  are  used  as  synonimous  expressions.  Unac- 
companied by  active  obedience,  all  glows  of  the  af- 
fections, all  professions  of  the  lips,  will  be  a  hollow 
and  hypocritical  sacrifice,  which  God  will  reject 
with  abhorrence.  Let  us  then  be  careful  that  whilst 
with  the  angels  our  hearts  swell  with  gratitude,  and 
our  tongues  cry,  "  Holy  is  the  Lord  of  hosts :"  Let 
us  be  careful  also,  like  them  to  fiy  to  execute  the 
orders  of  God.  No,  my  dear  brethren,  it  is  a  fool- 
ish contradiction  to  say  that  we  gratefully  remember 
the  love  of  Christ,  whilst  at  the  same  time  by  our 
iniquities  we  crucify  him  afresh,  and  endeavour  as 
far  as  possible  to  frustrate  the  effects  of  this  love. 
Purity  of  life  is  the  gratitude  which  God  demands. 
Beware  then  all  those  of  you  who  suppose  that  you 
imitate  the  conduct  of  the  spouse  in  the  text,  be* 


SERMON  XIV.  313 

Cause  you  have  certain  glows  of  affection  when  you 
remember  the  sufferings  of  Jesus,  and  because  you 
talk  much  of  this  Redeemer,  whilst  at  the  same  time 
your  life  is  marked  by  no  holiness  or  charity.  The 
time  is  coming  in  which  you  will  find  to  your  eter- 
nal confusion,  that  "  not  those  who  cry,  Lord,  Lord, 
but  those  who  do  his  commandments,"  are  the 
persons  that  remember  the  Saviour's  love,  and  will 
be  admitted  to  his  kingdom. 

Happy  will  it  be  for  us,  my  brethren,  if  we  all 
thus  attest  our  remembrance  of  the  Saviour,  by  the 
sentiments  of  the  heart,  the  words  of  the  mouth, 
and  the  actions  of  the  life.  He  will  continually 
afford  us  new  blessings  ;  he  will  be  our  light  and 
our  salvation  on  earth,  and  our  support  in  the  hour 
of  death  :  and  when  his  grace  shall  have  admitted 
us  to  a  blissful  eternity,  we  will  still,  but  with  in- 
finitely  warmer  gratitude,  with  infinitely  more  lively 
sentiments  of  joy  and  love,  celebrate  our  Saviour. 
And  when  our  bodies,  waked  from  the  slumber  of 
the  grave,  shall  be  re-united  to  our  happy  souls,  we 
will  shout,  "  Saviour,  we  no  more  can  forget  thy 
love  ;  each  moment  as  it  passes,  will  recal  it  to  us  : 
the  full  ocean  of  blessedness  which  pours  upon  our 
souls,  will  ever  remind  us  of  thy  cross  ;  and  through- 
out the  ages  of  eternity,  each  breath  that  we  draw, 
shall  be  an  aspiration  of  praise  to  thee,n 


SERMON  XV. 

THE  LORD  OUR  SHEPHERD. 


u  The  Lord  is  my  shepherd,  I  shall  not  want.  He  mak~ 
eth  me  to  lie  down  in  green  pastures  :  he  leadeth  me 
beside  the  still  waters.  He  restoreth  my  soul:  he 
leadeth  me  in  the  paths  of  righteousness  for  his  name's 
sake.  Tea,  though  I  walk  through  the  valley  of  the 
thadow  of  dea$h,  I  will  fear  no  evil :  for  thou  art 
with  me ;  thy  rod  and  thy  staff  they  comfort  me. 
Thou  prcparest  a  table  before  me  in  the  presence  of 
mine  enemies  :  thou  anointest  mrj  head  with  oil ;  my 
cup  runneth  ever.  Surely  goodness  and  mercy  shall 
follow  me  all  the  days  of  my  life  :  and  J  will  dwell 
in  the  house  of  the  Lord  forever" 

IN  the  season  of  affliction  and  bereavement, 
we  feel  most  sensibly  the  effects  of  the  divine  com- 
passion. When  we  are  sinking  under  the  pressure 
of  sorrow,  when  those  earthly  objects  which  had 
afforded  us  pleasure  are  torn  from  us  or  embittered 
to  us,  when  the  world  presents  nothing  to  us  but  a 
dreary  waste  incapable  of  conferring  on  us  any  en- 
joyment ;  then  it  is  that  God  is  nearest  to  us,  and  that 
his  comforts  are  most  sensibly  felt  by  us.  In  a  sin- 
gle month  of  affliction  and  distress,  we  experience 


SERMON  XV.  31$ 

more  of  the  supporting  and  consolatory  influences 
of  the  Blessed  Spirit,  than  we  do  in  whole  years  of 
prosperity.  And  when  God,  after  his  benevolent 
purposes  in  afflicting  us  are  accomplished,  inter- 
poses in  btfr  favour  and  rescues  us  from  misery,  our 
hearts  glow  with  much  warmer  gratitude  than  if  we 
had  always  remained  in  felicity.  It  is  for  this  rea- 
son that  the  most  tender  and  affecting  psalms  of 
David  were  written,  when  he  had  just  been  delivered 
from  some  of  those  calamities  of  which  his  life  was 
full.  At  such  periods,  with  a  heart  overflowing  with 
gratitude,  he  joyfully  celebrated  the  mercies  of  God, 
acknowledged  him  as  the  only  source  of  true  feli- 
city ;  and  acquiring  a  firm  trust  in  him  from  the 
past  experience  of  his  mercy,  looked  forward  with 
confidence  to  the  future,  assured  that  this  God  who 
had  already  conferred  so  many  blessings  upon  him, 
would  never  forsake  him. 

You  perceive  the  truth  of  these  observations  in 
this  delightful  psalm,  which  is  now  to  occupy  your 
attention,  and  which  was  probably  written  at  that 
period  of  his  life  when  the  rebellion  of  his  son  Ab- 
salom, obliged  the  royal  psalmist  to  retire  from  Jeru- 
salem and  flee  to  the  borders  of  Lebanon.  Dispirit- 
ed and  hopeless,  wounded  by  the  ingratitude  of  his 
son,  forsaken  by  his  friends  and  driven  to  an  uncul- 
tivated region,  he  was  overwhelmed  with  sorrow, 
and  trembled  Jest  himself  and  the  small  remains  of 


Sltf  SERMON  XV. 

his  army  should  perish  with  famine ;  but  the  event 
was  more  happy  :  his  veteran  troops,  acquainted 
with  his  virtues  and  personally  attached  to  him,  flock- 
ed to  his  standard,  and  the  good  and  opulent  citizens 
afforded  him  liberal  support. 

Full  of  gratitude  to  that  God  who  had  thus  un- 
expectedly led  his  subjects  to  espouse  his  cause  and 
supply  his  necessities,  he  exclaims,  "  The  Lord  is 
Viy  shepherd"  The  sheep,  a  timid,  defenceless  ani 
xnal,  unable  to  foresee  danger  and  incapable  of  re- 
sisting an  assault,  indebted  for  its  preservation  to 
the  vigilance  of  the  shepherd,  was  a  fit  emblem  of 
David  left  without  support,  until  the  good  providence 
of  God  interposed  in  his  behalf.  And  on  the  other 
hand,  the  care  of  a  tender  shepherd  beautifully 
shadowed  forth  the  active  beneficence  of  God  to- 
wards his  afflicted  servant. 

There  were  several  circumstances  that  would  na- 
turally induce  David  to  represent  the  Lord  under 
this  image.  It  was  an  image  familiar  to  the  Jewish 
people  who  were  greatly  employed  in  pastoral  occu- 
pations ;  the  trembling  sheep  and  the  attentive  shep- 
herd were  immediately  before  the  eyes  of  David  on 
the  mountains  of  Lebanon,  at  the  time  that  he  wrote 
this  hymn  of  praise ;  and  he  knew  the  feelings  of  a 
shepherd,  having  himself  in  his  youth  watched  over 
the  flock,  and  been  so  solicitous  for  its  preservation 
as  to  expose  his  own  life  in  its  behalf. 


SERMON  XW  31? 

After  he  had  considered  God  in  this  character  he 
could  not  but  conclude,  "  I  shall  not  want."    With 
so  wise  and  powerful  a  protector  I  know  that  I  shall 
enjoy  every  thing  necessary  for  my  support  or  de- 
fence.    Unlike  those  earthly  shepherds,  who,  not- 
withstanding the  warmth  of  their  affection  for  their 
flock,  are  often  constrained  to  leave  it  in  want  through 
poverty,  through  weakness,  through  the  sterility  of 
their  fields,  or  the  rigour  of  the  season ;  unlike 
these  earthly  shepherds,  he  to  whom  I  belong  is  so 
rich  and  powerful,  that  I  shall  need  nothing.     He  is 
the  Master  and  Disposer  of  the  universe  and  all  that 
it  contains,  and  his  infinite  love  is  sustained  by  infi- 
nite power.     There  is  not  a  want  of  my  heart  which 
he  cannot  supply,  not  an  inquietude  of  my  spirit 
which  he  cannot  relieve,  not  a  desire  of  my  soul 
which  he  cannot  gratify.     "  The  Lord  is  my  shcp* 
herd :  I  shall  not  wan  t. ' ' 

Lebanon,  on  the  borders  of  which  as  we  have  al- 
ready said  David  now  was,  is  in  part  rough,  craggy, 
and  barren  ;  and  from  its  top,  at  certain  seasons, 
cataracts  of  melted  snow  descend,  which  render  the 
water  turbid  and  insalubrious.  The  psalmist  con- 
trasts the  provision  which  the  earthly  shepherds  who 
dwelt  there  made  for  their  flocks,  with  that  which 
his  divine  Shepherd  made  for  him.  "  He  maketh 
me  to  lie  down  in  green  pastures  ;  he  leadeth  me  be* 
side  the  still  zvatcrs.*"    Bounteously  providing  for 


318  SERMON  XV. 

me,  he  shelters  me  from  the  heat  of  the  noon- day 
sun,  where  the  pastures  are,  not  like  those  before 
my  eyes,  craggy  and  barren,  but  green  and  fertile ; 
and  at  night  he  leadeth  me,  not  to  troubled  and 
impetuous  torrents,  but  to  pure  and  quiet  waters 
that  gently  flow. 

The  paths  conducting  to  the  top  of  the  mountain 
were  devious  and  crooked,  and  in  traversing  them 
the  sheep  were  exposed  to  many  dangers,  and  were 
frequently  bewildered  and  lost.  But  the  Shepherd 
of  Israel  follows  David  in  his  wanderings;  and 
causes  him  to  walk  in  plain  and  secure  paths  :  "  He 
restorethy  orbringeth  back  my  soul;  he  leadeth  me 
in  the  paths  of  righteousness."  When  I  wander 
from  him  the  only  preserver  of  my  felicity,  the  only 
source  of  my  safety,  he  doth  not  abandon  me  to 
misery  and  destruction ;  he  tenderly  seeks  me,  he 
snatches  me  from  danger,  he  plucks  me  from  the 
edge  of  the  precipice  to  which  I  had  thoughtlessly 
strayed,  he  saves  me  from  the  ferocious  beasts  of 
the  desart  that  were  ready  to  devour  me,  and  com- 
passionately guides  me  in  those  pleasant  paths  where 
no  dangers  need  appal  me,  where  no  foes  can  injure 
me,  where  proceeding  under  his  eye  and  secured 
by  his  care,  I  shall  advance  forward  in  safety  and 
felicity.  And  this  he  does  not  through  any  interested 
motives,  not  for  the  sake  of  any  profit  that  can  be 
derived  from  me,  or  from  any  merit  in  me,  but 


SERMON  XV.  HQ 

from  the  impulse  of  his  mercy,  "for  his  na?ne1s 
sake." 

In  the  mountain  of  Lebanon,  as  in  almost  all  the 
mountains  of  Judaea,  there  are  numberless  dusky 
holes  and  caverns  ;  some  of  which  are  natural  and 
others  artificial.  Many  of  them  were  at  different 
times  devoted  to  the  uses  of  war ;  of  this  we  have 
several  instances  in  the  life  of  David  himself,  who 
more  than  once  employed  them  as  places  of  refuge 
and  as  strong  fortresses.*  Besides  this  use,  these 
caves  were  ordinarily  chosen  by  the  Jews  as  the  re- 
positories of  the  dead  ;  and  as  from  their  construc- 
tion they  were  peculiarly  fitted  for  it,  so  they  in 
reality  became  the  haunts  of  the  most  ferocious  ani* 
mals,  and  the  retirements  of  the  most  determined 
robbers.  Nothing  could  be  more  terrifying  than  a 
valley  skirted  by  such  caverns  ;  a  person  in  pass- 
ing through  it  would  be  perpetually  pained  by  the 
recollection  of  the  blood  which  once  had  stained  it, 
by  the  sight  of  the  mouldering  carcases  corrupting 
around  it,  and  by  the  apprehension  lest  some  fero- 
cious beast  or  bloody  assassin  was  lying  in  wait  jus" 

•  Jofephug  affords  us  feveral  confirmations  of  the  fame  fact.  I  xr'ni 
quote  a  single  example  from  him,  in  which  he  defcribes  their  conftruc* 
tion.  Speaking  of  thofe  formed  by  Hyrcanus  in  Perxa,  he  fays :  "  la 
the  rock  that  was  againft  the  mountain  he  formed  caves  of  many  fur- 
longs long.  He  made  their  mouths  fo  narrow,  that  one  only  could 
enter  at  a  time,  and  this  he  did  for  fecuritr,  and  fo  nrrvd  danger  if  he 
fttould  be  befieged  by  his  brethren." 

Tx 


5$  SERMON  XV. 

ready  to  deprive  him  of  life.  Such  a  place  David 
by  a  strong  and  elegant  figure,  calls  "  a  valley  of 
the  shadow  of  death  ;"  that  is,  a  valley  as  gloomy 
and  dismal  as  though  death  visibly  hovered  over 
it  and  obscured  it  with  his  shadow  large  and  horri- 
ble, totally  obstructing  the  few  gleams  of  light 
which  it  might  otherwise  enjoy.  In  it  nothing  but 
the  extreme  and  unremitted  vigilance  of  the  shep- 
herd could  preserve  his  defenceless  flock :  yet 
such  was  the  confidence  of  David  in  the  guardian- 
ship of  his  divine  Shepherd  that  even  in  it  he  was 
free  from  apprehensions  and  alarms,  since  the 
crook  of  his  heavenly  protector  could  guide  him 
amidst  all  its  darkness,  and  his  rod  defend  him  from 
all  its  perils.  "  Yea,  though  J  walk  through  the 
valley  of  the  shadow  of  death,  1  will  fear  no  evil : 
for  thou  art  with  me  ;  thy  rod  and  thy  staff  they 
comfort  me" 

u  I  will  fear  no  evil"  Though  I  behold  be- 
fore me  every  thing  that  can  affright  the  heart, 
every  thing  most  distressing  to  nature ;  and  though 
I  feel  myself  frail  and  impotent,  yet  my  soul  is 
calm,  and  instead  of  trembling  with  apprehension 
firmly  leans  upon  its  God.  "  Thou  art  with  me  .*•' 
thou,  whose  power  is  unlimited,  whose  compassion 
is  unspeakable.  Thou  beholdest  all  my  perils  ;  thou 
pitiest  me  amidst  my  dangers  and  infirmities,  and 
thou  art  able  to  deliver  me.  Often  have  I  experi- 
enced thy  care  and  defence' in  years  that  are  past. 


SERMON  XV.  321 

Often  has  thy  flock  in  the  most  disastrous  circum- 
stances been  guarded  and  comforted  by  thee. 
Why  then  should  I  tremble  since  my  faith  beholds 
thee  present  ?  "  Thy  rod  and  thy  staffs  they  comfort 
me."  Amidst  all  the  darkness  and  perplexity 
of  my  path,  thy  staff  shall  direct  my  steps  ;  thy 
rod  shall  drive  away  the  enemies  that  threaten  me. 
Yes,  my  Shepherd,  in  those  desolate  moments  when 
the  kindest  human  friend  can  bestow  only  an  inefc 
fectual  pity  and  shed  useless  tears,  thou  canst  de- 
fend and  sustain  me,  and  fill  my  soul  with  consola- 
tions unspeakable. 

The  Psalmist  here  leaves  his  figurative  language, 
and  celebrates  the  sroodness  of  God  which  has  liber- 
ally  supplied  his  wants  to  the  confusion  of  his  ma- 
lignant foes.  "  Thou  preparest  a  table  for  me  in 
the  presence  of  mine  enemies :  thou  anointest  my 
head  with  oil  :"  This  was  a  ceremony  used  among 
the  Jews  previous  to  their  participation  of  a  festi- 
val :   "  my  cup  runneth  over." 

In  the  conclusion  of  the  psalm,  he  declares  his 
full  confidence  in  the  future  protection  and  favour  of 
God,  and  his  assured  trust  that  he  would  be  restored 
to  Jerusalem,  where  he  might  quietly  worship  in 
the  holy  temple.  "  Surely  goodness  and  mercy 
shall  follow  me  all  the  days  of  my  life  ;  and  I  will*: 
dwell  in  the  house  of  the  Lord  forever" 


322  SERMON  XV. 

Having  thus  illustrated  at  some  length  the  occa- 
sion and  import  of  this  psalm,  let  us  now  enquire 
more  in  detail  in  what  respects  God  may  be  com- 
pared to  a  tender  and  careful  shepherd.  It  is  the 
duty  of  a  shepherd,  to  guide  his  flock ;  to  supply 
their  wants  ;  to  heal  them  when  they  are  languish, 
ing  and  sick ;  to  defend  them  from  danger — And 
all  this  is  abundantly  done  by  the  Lord  towards  rik 
people, 

I.  It  is  part  of  the  pastoral  office  to  guide  the 
flock,  to  prevent  it  from  wandering,  or  to  lead  it 
back  in  safety  when  it  has  strayed.  And  say,  be- 
lievers, does  not  our  God  fully  discharge  this  ten- 
der office  ?  In  order  that  we  might  be  safely  guided 
through  this  thorny  maze,  he  has  given  us  his  holy 
word,  a  more  sure  director  than  the  rod  of  the 
ehepherd ;  a  director  which  in  every  circumstance 
of  perplexity  and  doubt,  cries  to  us,  "  This  is  the 
way,  walk  ye  in  it."  He  has  given  us  his  Son  to 
go  before  us,  and  mark  out  the  road  which  we  must 
tread,  in  order  that  we  may  at  last  eat  of  the  fruit 
of  the  tree  of  life,  and  drink  of  that  river  of  delights 
which  flows  at  God's  right  hand.  He  has  given  us 
liis  blessed  Spirit,  not  only  to  induce  us  to  follow 
the  directions  of  this  scripture  and  the  example  of 
this  Saviour,  but  also  that  he  himself  may  "  lead  us 
in  the  paths  of  righteousness."  What  flock,  then, 
is  guided  with  greater  care  than  the  flock  of  the 
Lord  ?  Yet,  notwithstanding  this,  they  sometimes 


SERMON  XV.  32S 

wander  from  the  narrow  path,  and  stray  into  the 
perilous  wilderness  :  in  these  instances  their  Shep- 
herd forsakes  them  not ;  he  flies  to  "  seek  and  to 
save  that  which  is  lost  ;"  he  hastens  to  restore 
the  straying  soul,  and  to  bring  it  back  to  his 
secure  fold.  Can  we  not  testify  to  this,  my  breth- 
ren? When  we  were  wandering  and  lost,  did  not 
our  careful  Shepherd  seek  us  with  solicitude,  draw 
us  from  the  very  brink  of  the  precipice  on  which  we 
were  thoughtlessly  straying,  bring  us  back  rejoic- 
ing, and  so  tenderly  guide  us  that  we  have  been 
kept  in  safety  to  the  present  day  ?  Can  we  not  tes- 
tify that  God  has  fulfilled  to  us  that  gracious  prom- 
ise :  "  Behold  I,  even  I,  will  both  search  my  sheep 
and  seek  them  out ;  as  a  shepherd  seeketh  out  his 
flock,  so  will  I  seek  out  my  sheep,  and  will  deliver 
them  out  of  all  places  where  they  have  been  scat- 
tered in  the  dark  and  cloudy  day  :  I  will  seek  that 
which  was  lost,  and  bring  again  that  which  was 
driven  away."     (Ezek.  xxxiv.  11,  12,  16.) 

II.  It  is  a  part  of  the  pastoral  office  to  supply  the 
flock  with  all  things  necessary  for  sustenance  and 
convenience  ;  and  God  has  graciously  promised 
respecting  his  people,  (Ezek.  xxxiv.  14.)  "  I  will 
feed  them  in  a  good  pasture,  and  upon  the  high 
mountains  of  Israel  shall  their  fold  be :  there  they 
shall  be  in  a  good  fold,  and  in  a  fat  pasture  shall 
they  feed  upon  the  mountains  of  Israel."  Believ- 
ers, God  has  more  than  fulfilled  this  promise  ;    he 


S24  SERMON  XV. 

not  only  supplies  his  flock  with  what  is  necessary 
for  its  sustenance,  but  seems  to  delight  in  making 
it  taste  of  the  profusion  qf  his  bounty  ;  whilst  here 
he  feeds  us  not  with  the  husks  of  earth,  but  with 
the  hidden  manna  of  heaven  ;  he  gives  us  to  taste 
of  those  rich  blessings  which  flow  from  a  sense  of 
his  favour,  from  the  communications  of  his  love, 
from  the  influences  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  from  a  fore- 
taste of  the  joys  of  heaven.  He  gives  now  to  every 
member  of  his  flock  that  portion  which  is  best  for 
him,  and  leads  them  one  by  one  into  those  blissful 
regions  where  every  want  shall  be  supplied,  every 
desire  satisfied  ;  where  God  himself,  with  all  his 
glories  and  with  all  his  mercies,  shall  be  the  rich 
and  never-failing  portion  of  their  soul.  Ah  !  where 
is  the  earthly  shepherd  who  is  either  disposed  or 
able,  so  abundantly  to  satisfy  the  necessities  of  his 
flock  ?  No  ;  there  is  none  but  God  who  can  bestow 
on  hungry  and  famished  souls  those  rich  provi- 
sions which  will  fully  satisfy  them  here  below,  and 
fit  them  for  that  state,  where  "  they  shall  hunger 
no  more,  neither  thirst  any  more,"  since  their  di- 
vine Shepherd  "  shall  feed  them,  and  lead  them  to 
fountains  of  living  waters."  (Rev.  vii.  16.) 

III.  It  is  part  of  the  pastoral  office  to  support  the 
flock  when  weak,  and  to  heal  it  when  sick.  And  is 
not  this  too  done  by  our  God  ?  In  innumerable  parts 
of  the  scripture,  he  represents  himself  engaged  in 
this  benevolent  employment  :    in  the  language  of 


SERMON  XV.  325 

Enekiel,  "  he  bindeth  up  that  which  is  broken,  he 
strenp-theneth  that  which  is  sick."  In  the  still  more 
tender  expressions  of  Isaiah,  he  "  gathereth  the 
lambs  in  his  arms,  carrieth  them  in  his  bosom,  and 
gently  leadeth  those  that  are  with  young."  Chris- 
tians, how  often  have  you  experienced  the  truth  of 
these  declarations— When  you  were  bowed  down 
with  a  sense  of  your  guilt,  and  went  on  your  course 
sorrowful  and  sighing,  who  was  it  that  bound  up 
your  broken  heart,  that  gave  you  comfort  and  joy  ? 
Who  but  the  Shepherd  of  Israel  saying  unto  you, 
"  Be  of  good  cheer,  your  sins  are  forgiven  you." 
When  you  first  entered  upon  the  christian  course,  ad- 
vancing with  trembling  steps,  fearing  that  you  might 
be  overcome  by  the  power  of  temptation,  feeling 
yourself  to  be  feeble  and  helpless  as  the  lamb  ;  who 
was  it  that  supported  your  tottering  steps,  that  fan- 
ned the  "  smoking  flax"  into  a  flame,  that  had  com- 
passion on  your  weakness  ?  Who  but.  the  Lord  our 
Shepherd?  In  those  gloomy  seasons  when  you  have 
had  fearful  apprehensions  of  futurity,  have  lost  th** 
cheering  light  of  God's  countenance,  and  questio^d 
the  sincerity  of  your  love  to  him  ;  who  was  hvcthat 
in  this  desolate  condition  restored  joy  and  gladness 
to  your  soul  ?  It  was  your  divine  Shepherd  who 
shed  upon  you  the  beams  of  his  love,  and  whisper- 
ed to  your  troubled  heart :  "  Fear  not,  thou  of  little 
faith ;  I  am  thy  God."  In  periods  of  outward 
sorrow,  of  sickness,  of  poverty,  of  contempt,  what  is 
it  that  has  supported  you  ;  what  but  the  commit- 


326  Sl&HMON  XV. 

nications  of  heavenly  grace,  the  consolations  of  the 
blessed  Spirit,  a  tender  feeling  of  the  love  of  God 
towards  you.  "  Truly  then  God  is  good  to  Israel ; 
he  healeth  all  his  sicknesses,  he  redeemeth  his  life 
from  destruction ;"  "  he  strengtheneth  him  upon 
the  bed  of  languishing,  he  maketh  all  his  bed  in 
sickness:"  "  He  healeth  him  when  broken  in  heart 
and  bindeth  up  his  wounds." 

IV.  Finally,  it  is  part  of  the  pastoral  office  to  dc- 
fend  the  flock  from  dangers.  And  where  is  the 
protector  to  be  compared  with  the  Lord  ?  Review 
your  lives,  believers,  and  you  will  immediately  be- 
hold a  thousand  instances  in  which  he  has  interposed 
in  your  behalf,  and  rescued  you  from  the  most  im- 
minent perils.  But  were  your  faculties  so  enlarged 
as  to  contemplate  the  whole  plan  of  his  providence 
towards  you,  what  a  crowd  of  deliverances  would 
>ou  behold  ;  in  each  moment  of  your  life  you  would 
pee  some  instance  of  his  defending  goodness.  At 
this  period  you  would  see  him  so  arranging  events 
iOhis  providence,  that  a  violent  temptation  might 
be  \  becked  just  at  the  moment  your  piety  was  wa- 
vering ;  at  that,  presenting  to  you  some  circuni  - 
stance  that  would  tend  to  rekindle  your  virtue. 
Here,  you  would  contemplate  him  encompassing 
you  as  with  a  shield,  to  enable  you  to  resist  an  as- 
sault of  Satan ;  there,  warding  off  from  you  some 
calamity  which  you  were  not  able  to  endure.  Every 
where  you  would  behold  him  so  managing  all  your 


SERMON  XV.  32/ 

concerns,  that  nothing  should  befal  you  which  would 
not  work  together  for  your  greatest  good.  O  who 
is  a  defender  like  to  our  God  ?  Who  has  equal  pow- 
er with  him,  or  equal  love  to  impel  that  power  to 
action  ? 

Do  you  wish  to  see  an  illustrious  example  of  his 
willingness  to  defend  you  in  every  situation  ?  View 
for  a  moment  that  miracle  of  goodness  which  aston- 
ished heaven  and  earth.  The  ungrateful  flock  of 
the  Lord,  rejecting  his  guidance,  rebelling  against 
his  authority,  wandering  from  his  paths,  was  ready 
to  become  the  prey  of  satan  and  the  subjects  of  eter- 
nal sorrow  :  but  in  this  situation,  when  none  else 
could  defend  them,  they  found  a  defender  in  their 
injured  Shepherd  ;  he  procured  a  deliverer  in  the 
Son  of  his  love ;  and  although  they  had  advanced  so 
near  to  the  abyss  that  they  could  not  be  saved,  un- 
less Jesus  threw  himself  into  it,  he,  urged  by  his 
compassion,  hesitated  not  to  perform  this  divine  act 
of  mercy.  After  viewing  this  deliverance,  shall  we 
fear  that  God  will  not  interpose  for  our  defence, 
when  we  are  threatened  by  danger  ?  Oh  no  !  con- 
fident of  his  guardian  care,  we  will  securely  sing, 
"  The  Lord  is  my  light  and  my  salvation,  whom 
shall  I  fear  ?  The  Lord  is  the  strength  of  my  life,  of 
whom  shall  I  be  afraid  ?" 

Should  we  not  naturally  suppose,  my  brethren, 
Shat  all  mankind  would  imitate  the  example  of  Da- 


£28  SERMON  XV, 

vid,  and  seek  in  the  kindness  and  protection  oi  the 
most  Merciful,  a  support  in  their  afflictions,  a  refuge 
in  their  distresses  ?  But,  alas  !  we  need  only  look 
around  us  to  behold  thousands  of  the  feeble  and 
unhappy  children  of  men,  who  are  still  "  as  sheep 
going  astray  ;"  who  still  refuse  to  "  return  to  the 
Shepherd  and  Bishop  of  their  souls :"  (1  Pet.  ii.  25. 
Poor  sinners !  since  you  will  not  attach  yourselves 
to  his  flock,  "  you  shall  want ;"  want  all  the  con- 
solations of  his  grace,  all  the  joys  of  his  Spirit,  all 
the  splendours  of  his  heaven.  Since  you  choose  to 
trace  the  downward  road  to  hell,  rather  than  permit 
him  to  ,l  lead  you  in  the  paths  of  righteousness," 
you  shall  not  have  him  as  a  supporter  when  you 
"  walk  through  the  valley  of  the  shadow  of  death." 
In  that  awful  moment,  whilst  the  darkness  of  the 
tomb  gathers  round  you,  the  remembrance  of  your 
past  wanderings  from  God  and  from  happiness,  shall 
fill  you  with  agony ;  and  in  anticipating  the  future 
you  can  have  no  hope  of  "  dwelling  in  the  house," 
the  heavenly  temple  "  of  the  Lord  forever."  And 
where  will  you  find  consolation,  when  after  your 
final  groan,  your  soul  shall  fall,  naked  and  defence- 
less, red  with  unexpiated  guilt,  and  destitute  of  the 
heavenly  Shepherd's  protection,  before  the  tribunal 
of  the  thrice  holy  God.  Oh !  in  time  avoid  this 
fearful  doom  ;  let  the  happiness  which  David  ex- 
periences from  the  care  and  tenderness  of  the  Shep- 
herd of  Israel,  induce  you  to  leave  the  paths  of  sin, 
and  submit  yourselves  to  him  ;   he  affectionately 


SERMON  XV.  329 

calls  you  ;  he  assures  you  that  he  is  willing  to  re- 
ceive you,  to  guard  you,  to  fill  your  hearts  with  joy. 
Resist  no  longer  his  tender  invitations. 

Flock  of  God,  ever  be  contented  with  your  lot  in 
life  ;  remember  that  your  Shepherd,  who  tenderly 
loves  you,  orders  all  things  and  all  events  so  as  to 
promote  your  greatest  good.  To  murmur  at  any  of 
his  dispensations,  is  criminally  to  rebel  against  him 
and  presumptuously  to  doubt  of  his  power  or  affec- 
tion. Since  you  "  are  the  sheep  of  his  pasture," 
submit  implicitly  to  his  tender  guidance. 

Live  in  constant  dependence  upon  him.  We,  his 
feeble  flock,  weak,  liable  to  err,  incapable  of  de- 
fending ourselves,  can  no  where  find  safety  but  in 
his  protection.  Like  David,  build  your  hopes  of 
support  in  life  and  death,  for  time  and  eternity,  not 
on  yourselves,  but  on  God  ;  on  his  love,  his  faith- 
fulness, the  endearing  relations  he  sustains  towards 
you. 

Confide  in  your  Shepherd.  In  all  your  afflictions 
recollect  that  his  presence  is  with  you,  that  his 
cloud  covers  you,  that  his  pillar  of  fire  goes  before 
you,  that  his  rod  and  his  staff  can  comfort  you. 
With  the  psalmist  conclude,  that  as  he  bears  this 
tender  office,  and  has  hitherto  protected  and  guarded 
you,  so  he  will  continue  his  loving-kindness  to- 
wards you,  and  cause  his  "  goodness  and  mercy  to 


336  SERMON  XV. 

follow  you  all  the  days  of  your  life."  Those  fears 
and  apprehensions  for  the  future,  which  you  some- 
times feel,  shew  but  little  faith,  but  little  reliance 
upon  the  pastoral  care  of  the  Lord.  "  Why  then 
are  ye  cast  down,  O  our  souls,  and  why  are  ye 
disquieted  within  us  ?  Trust  in  God."  Trust  in 
him,  christans  ;  he  will  safely  conduct  you  through 
this  vale  of  tears,  render  you  triumphant  in  death, 
and  then  receive  you  to  that  better  world  where  your 
Shepherd  "  shall  feed  you  and  shall  lead  you  unto 
living  fountains  of  waters  ;"  where  he  "  shall  wipe 
away  all  tears  from  your  eyes," 


SERMON  XVI. 

ABRAHAM  OFFERING  UP  ISAAC 

Genesis  xxii.  1,  2. 

"  And it  came  to  pass  after  these  things,  that  God  did  temp: 
Abraham,  and  said  unto  him,  Abraham  :  And  he  said, 
Behold,  here  I  am.  And  he  said,  take  now  thrj  son,  thine 
only  son  Isaac,  whom  thou  lovest,  and  get  thee  into  the 
land  of  Mor'tah  ;  and  offer  hhn  therefor  a  burnt-offering 
upon  one  of  the  mountains  which  I  will  tell  thee  of? 

MY  brethren,  the  event  related  in  the  text  is  no 
less  affecting  and  instructive  than  astonishing.  I  am 
not  surprised  that  the  worshippers  of  Moloch  should 
offer  their  children  in  sacrifice  to  this  pretended 
Deity  ;  these  worshippers  were  superstitious  ;  this 
God  was  cruel.  But  that  our  merciful  Father,  who 
willeth  only  the  happiness  of  his  creatures,  should 
impose  such  a  trial  as  this  upon  a  tender  parent ; 
that  this  parent  -should  so  overcome  the  strongest 
feelings  of  nature  as  to  comply  with  it  without  mur- 
muring ;  these  are  events  which  fill  me  with  admira- 
tion, till  I  recollect  on  the  one  hand  the  wise  ends 
which  God  hereby  accomplished,  and  on  the  other 
the  power^nd  Strength  of  thatiaith  which  upheld  the 


'332  SERMON  XVL 

pious  Abraham.  But  cold  admiration  is  not  the 
only  sentiment  which  this  history  should  excite ;  it 
is  calculated  to  awaken  the  tenderest  feeelings  and  to 
afford  us  the  most  useful  lessons.  I  propose,  that 
this  purpose  may  be  answered  to  review  the  circum- 
stances of  this  event,  and  then  to  enquire  what  prac- 
tical instructions  may  be  derived  from  it. 

God  of  Abraham  and  of  Isaac,  eternal  Father  of 
that  Saviour  whom  Isaac  weakly  prefigured,  let  our 
meditations  on  this  subject  tend  to  increase  our  ho  • 
liness,  and  to  inspire  us  with  that  faith,  which  will 
make  us  victorious  not  only  over  the  world  and  sin, 
but  also  over  the  improper  indulgence  of  those  pow- 
erful feelings  of  nature,  which  become  criminal  only 
through  excess. 

It  is  pleasing  and  useful  to  contemplate  pious  men, 
supported  in  the  midst  of  difficulties  and  distresses 
by  the  consolations  of  religion,  and  the  exercise  of 
faith.  From  such  examples  we  are  taught  more 
compendiously  and  forcibly  than  we  could  be  by  pre- 
cept, the  value  of  piety,  the  duty  of  submission  to 
the  will  of  God.  Such  instructions  we  may  derive 
from  this  event  in  the  life  of  the  patriarch  Abraham. 

He  had  now  arrived  to  an  advanced  old  age,  and 
living  in  strict  communion  with  his  God,  hoped  to 
descend  in  peace  to  the  house  of  silence.  He  waasur- 


SERMON  XVI.  333 

rounded  by  temporal  enjoyments ;  he  had  received 
from  the  Almighty  that  noblest  and  most  endearing 
of  titles,  the  "  friend  of  God  ;"  he  saw  his  memory 
about  to  be  perpetuated,  in  a  son  dearly  and  de- 
servedly beloved,  a  son  given  him  by  miracle,  a  son 
in  whose  seed  the  nations  were  to  be  blessed.  But, 
human  hopes,  how  fallacious  are  you !  Earthly 
bliss,  how  easily  art  thou  destroyed !  God  will  not 
suffer  his  children  to  remain  in  this  world  without 
afflictions  and  sorrows,  lest  they  should  forget  that 
this  is  not  their  abiding  city,  lest  their  desires  after 
the  heavenly  inheritance  should  be  cooled  or  ex- 
tinguished. It  was  thus  that  he  acted  towards 
Abraham  :  "  And  it  came  to  pass  after  these  things 
that  God  did  tempt  Abraham."  The  word,  to  tempt, 
is  generally  used  in  an  ill  sense,  signifying  to  incite 
to  sin  ;  in  this  sense,  God  cannot  as  St.  James  as- 
serts, tempt  any  man  :  when  he  is  said  to  tempt 
his  children,  the  meaning  is,  that  he  so  orders  events 
in  his  providence  that  their  piety  may  be  strongly 
attacked,  and  its  warmth  and  sincerity  attested  by  a 
victory  over  dangerous  assaults.  It  would  be  bet- 
ter perhaps  to  translate  the  original  word,  did  try  ; 
which  is  its  primitive  signification.  God  then 
""did 'try 'Abraham,  and  said  unto  him  Abraham; 
and  he  said,  Behold,  here  I  am."  We  are  igno- 
rant in  what  precise  manner  the  Lord  revealed  him- 
self to  this  his  faithful  servant ;  he  did  it  however 
to  such  a  manner  as  to  assure  Abraham  that  he  wafe 


034  SERMON  XVI. 

addressed  by  God.  It  was  a  voice  that  was  ia- 
miliar  and  dear  to  the  patriarch;  he  had  often  been 
blest  by  such  intimate  intercourse,  with  his  Mas- 
ter ;  the  most  precious  promises  had  in  this  man- 
ner  been  made  to  him  ;  he  listens  to  it  now  with 
eagerness,  expecting  perhaps  new  favours.  What 
is  it  then  which  the  Lord  announces  ?  "  Take  now 
thy  son,  thine  only  son,  Isaac,  whom  thou  lovest.'* 
Ah  !  when  Abraham  heard  only  these  words,  his 
attention  became  more  fixed  ;  he  supposed  doubt- 
less that  this  dear  object  of  his  affection  was  about 
to  partake  of  new  mercies  from  his  Lord,  was  to  re- 
ceive either  new  promises  or  to  obtain  the  confirma- 
tion of  those  that  had  already  been  made  to  him. 
What  a  stroke  was  this  order  which  follows  !  Take 
this  son  so  dearly,  so  justly  beloved  by  thee,  "  and 
get  thee  into  the  land  of  Moriah,  and  offer  him  there 
for  a  burnt  offering  upon  one  of  the  mountains  that 
I  shall  tell  thee  of."  Holy  Abraham  !  what  a  t  ial 
was  this  ;  how  great  was  that  faith  which  could  tri- 
umph over  it ! 

It  would  have  been  much,  had  the  pious  patri- 
arch merely  been  told  that  Isaac  must  die — it  had 
been  much  to  relinquish  all  those  fond  hopes  which 
he  had  cherished,  and  which  he  had  believed  that  he 
was  authorized  to  entertain  from  the  promises  of 
God.  But  then  his  grief  would  be  mitigated  by 
watching  around  the  sick  bed  of  his  son,  by  assuajr 


SERMON  XVI.  33'5 

ing  his  pains,  and  performing  for  him  the  last  offices 
of  affection  :  but  this  feeble  consolation  must  be 
denied  him,  for  Isaac  must  be  slain,  must  die  by 
violence.  Even  then  it  might  be  possible  that 
Abraham  might  remove  at  a  distance  from  this  bloo- 
dy spectacle,  and  avoid  beholding  the  last  agonies 
of  his  son  :  No — this  alleviation  is  not  granted  to 
him  ;  he  must  not  only  behold  Isaac  struggling  with 
the  pangs  of  death,  but  must  himself  inflict  the  mor- 
tal blow  ;  the  hand  that,  it  would  seem,  should  only 
be  employed  in  his  defence,  must  be  dyed  with 
his  gushing  blood  ;  the  final  groans  of  an  only  son 
must  vibrate  through  the  ears  of  a  parent  who  has 
wounded  him  ;  and  after  he  is  cold  and  senseless, 
this  parent  must  light  the  wood  on  which  he  is  ex- 
tended, and  behold  the  body  of  his  offspring  slowly 
reduced  to  ashes.  Ah !  holy  patriarch,  hadst  thou 
been  less  devoted  to  God,  what  various  pleas  might - 
est  thou  have  urged  to  excuse  thy  compliance  with 
this  painful  duty.  But,  my  brethren,  Abraham  was 
not  of  the  number  of  those  persons  who  suppose 
that  they  may  violate  the  laws  of  God,  because  they 
cannot  perfectly  comprehend  the  reasons  of  them  : 
is  soon  as  he  knew  the  will  of  God  clearly  and  ex- 
plicitly, he  prepared  not  to  argue,  but  to  obey  it 
without  hesitancy  or  delay.  He  stifles  the  feelings 
of  nature  ;  he  suppresses  the  suggestions  of  doubt  > 
he  goes  to  perform  the  command  of  his  Lord,  and 
says  with  resignation — Not  my  will,  but  thine  be 
clone.     "  And  Abraham  rose  up  earlv  in  the  morn- 

Xx 


336  SERMON  XVI. 

ing,  and  saddled  his  ass,"  (for  this,  in  the  earlier  age3 
of  the  world,  was  the  manner  in  which  persons 
of  the  greatest  distinction  travelled)  "  and  took  two 
of  his  young  men  with  him  and  Isaac  his  son  ;  and 
clave  the  wood  for  the  burnt-offering,  and  rose  up 
and  went  towards  the  place  of  which  God  had  told 
him  :  and  on  the  third  day  he  lifted  up  his  eyes 
and  saw  the  place  afar  off."  What  sorrows  must 
have  wrung  the  heart  of  the  parent  during  these  three 
mournful  days.  Whilst  Isaac  was  addressing  him 
with  filial  affection  and  tenderness,  or  speaking  of 
the  wonders  that  had  been  wrought  in  their  behalf 
by  the  God  whom  they  worshipped,  what  keen  re- 
grets must  have  agitated  the  afflicted  father  in  re- 
flecting that  in  so  short  a  period  this  affectionate 
child  must  be  sunk  in  the  grave  by  his  arm.  Nev- 
ertheless he  still  prosecutes  his  journey  with  a  de- 
termined soul.  His  trial  was  indeed  great ;  but  he 
was  not  crushed  by  it,  for  God  who  inflicted  it  upon 
him,  always  wisely  proportions  the  trials  of  his  chil 
dren  to  the  strength  of  grace  which  they  have  re- 
ceived. Having  arrived  at  the  foot  of  the  mount, 
he  left  the  servants  there,  "  and  took  the  wood  of 
the  burnt- offering,  and  laid  it  upon  Isaac  his  son  ; 
and  he  took  the  fire  in  his  hand  and  a  knife,  and  they 
went  both  of  them  together.  And  Isaac  spake  unto 
Abraham  his  father,  and  said,  my  father  :  And  he 
said,  here  am  I,  my  son.  And  he  said,  behold  the 
fire  and  the  wood,  but  where  is  the  lamb  for  a  burnt 
offering."    What  force  is  there  in  this  tender  ad- 


SERMON  XVI.  337 

dress  and  this  simple  question  of  Isaac— "  The  heart 
alone  can  comment  upon  these  words."  "  And 
Abraham  said,  my  son,  God  will  provide  himself 
a  lamb  for  a  burnt-offering  :  so  they  went  both  of 
:hem  together." 

Having  ascended  the  mount  and  built  the  altar, 
Abraham  "  bound  Isaac  his  son  and  laid  him  upon 
it*"  It  will  be  recollected  that  Isaac  had  now  ar- 
rived to  years  of  discretion,  and  was  probably  about 
the  age  of  thirty-three ;  he  must  of  consequence 
have  been  bound  by  his  own  consent.  Nothing 
then  could  be  more  affecting  than  their  interview 
when,  having  arrived  to  the  appointed  place,  Abra- 
ham informed  his  son  of  the  orders  he  had  re- 
ceived from  God ;  and  forgetting  the  Father  in  the 
believer,  urges  him  unreservedly  to  submit  to  the 
will  of  the  All-Merciful.  Isaac  yields,  submits 
without  a  murmur,  and  prepares  to  lay  down  his  life 
with  calmness  at  the  command  of  God. 

The  final  embrace  has  been  given  and  received  ; 
the  solemn  and  affecting  farewell  has  been  mutual- 
ly pronounced ;  Isaac  is  extended  upon  the  wood  ; 
the  arm  of  Abraham  is  raised  to  strike  the  fatal 
blow  ;  in  another  moment  the  knife  will  be  dyed 
T,vith  the  blood  of  his  son.  O  christians,  it  is  in 
such  seasons  of.  gloom  and  perplexity  when  all  hope 
is  relinquished,  that  our  God  appears  for  our  suc- 
:our,    God  by  his  angel  called  to  him  from  heaven^ 


338  SERMON  XVL 

and  said,  "  Abraham,  Abraham  !  lay  not  thine 
hand  upon  the  lad,  neither  do  thou  any  thing  unto 
him,  for  now  I  know  that  thou  fearest  God,  seeing 
that  thou  hast  not  withheld  thy  son,  thine  only 
son  from  me."  A  victim  is  provided  in  the  place 
of  Isaac  ;  God  renews  his  covenant  with  the  faith- 
ful parent  and  confirms  it  by  an  oath ;  and  Abra- 
ham returns  home  rejoicing  in  these  new  displays 
of  divine  goodness.  It  is  always  thus,  my  breth- 
ren ;  when  an  obedience  to  the  commands  of  God 
seems  to  lead  us  to  misery  and  death,  we  find  peace 
and  joy  :  whilst  in  following  the  world  which  prom- 
ises us  prosperity  and  delight,  we  find  death,  eter- 
nal death. 

This  interesting  history  affords  us, 

I.  An  instruction  for  Christians, 

II.  A  reproof  to  sinners. 

III.  A  consolation  for  mourners. 

I.  Christians,  you  are  here  taught  some  of  the 
characteristics  of  that  obedience  which  you  owe  to 
God.  It  should,  like  that  of  Abraham,  be  univer- 
sal, willing,  prompt. 

1.  Our  obedience  to  the  commands  of  God  mus- 
be  universal.     Our  dearest  gratifications,  must  be 


SERMON  XVI.  539 

relinquished,  the  severest  pains  endured  rather  than 
violate  his  orders.  Having  learned  the  will  of  our 
Lord,  we  must  prepare  to  perform  it,  even  though 
our  hearts  are  to  be  torn  by  the  sacrifice  of  an  Isaac. 
How  many  are  there,  my  brethren,  who  forget  this 
great  characteristic  of  christian  obedience :  they 
are  willing  to  obey  God  to  a  certain  point,  but  be- 
yond  this  they  say  to  him  with  the  guests  of  the  par- 
able, u  I  pray  thee  have  me  excused."  They  will 
be  willing,  for  instance,  to  acknowledge  the  truth  of 
religion  and  to  contend  warmly  against  its  enemies  ; 
but  to  practice  it  sincerely,  this  is  making  too  great 
a  sacrifice.  They  will  be  willing  to  abstain  from 
gross  crimes,  but  not  to  perform  painful  duties 
they  will  be  willing  to  attend  to  all  the  external  rite:: 
of  religion,  but  to  demand  from  them  vital  heart- 
felt piety,  is  to  demand  too  much  :  they  will  be  will- 
ing to  comply  with  all  fashionable  virtues,  but  not 
with  those  that  are  contemned  by  the  world.  There 
are  innumerable  other  such  examples  of  partial  obe- 
dience which  will  immediately  occur  to  you.  How 
different  a  lesson  are  we  taught  by  Abraham  :  he  is 
commanded  to  perform  an  action  in  comparison  with 
which  he  would  with  joy  lay  down  his  own  life  ;  an 
action  which  seemed  contrary  to  the  character  of 
God,  the  spirit  of  his  religion,  and  the  promises  he 
had  made.  Yet  God  commands — all  scruples  must 
be  silenced — Isaac  must  be  sacrificed.  God,  my 
brethren,  does  not  command  us  now  to  offer  up  our 
children  to  him,  but  if  vou  have  not  the  same  sen- 


540  SERMON  XVI. 

timents  which  induced  Abraham  to  comply  with 
the  divine  orders,  if  you  resolve  that  if  you  were 
placed  in  his  situation,  you  would  act  differently, 
you  are  no  christians  ;  for  there  is  no  principle  more 
plainly  or  unequivocally  asserted  in  the  word  of  God 
than  this — that  a  deliberate  refusal  to  obey  any  one 
command  of  the  Lord,  is  a  proof  that  our  obedience 
in  other  respects  did  not  spring  from  a  regard  for 
his  authority,  but  from  motives  purely  human. 
"  Whosoever,"  saith  St.  James,  "  shall  keep  the 
whole  law,  and  yet  offend"  deliberately  and  resolv- 
edly "  in  one  point,  he  is  guilty  of  all."  Let  your 
obedience  then  be  universal ;  extending  to  those 
things  most  painful,  as  well  as  to  those  most  pleas- 
ing to  nature.  Be  as  ready  to  sacrifice  as  to  cher- 
ish  an  Isaac,  if  God  should  command  you. 

2.  Christian  obedience  must  be  willing.  All 
murmurs  must  be  silenced,  and  the  heart  acquiesce 
in  the  duty.  This  is  a  second  characteristic  of 
christian  obedience  taught  us  by  Abraham.  It  is 
not  sufficient  to  perform  those  actions  which  God 
bids  us,  if  we  do  them  with  repinings  and  regrets  ; 
if  like  slaves  under  the  rod  of  a  tyrant  we  are  driv- 
en involuntarily  to  do  what  we  hate;  these  are 
not  the  servants  whom  God  approves ;  he  rewards 
those  only  who  love  him  ;  and  it  is  one  of  the  first 
effects  of  love  to  him,  to  make  us  delight  to  perform 
his  commands.  Behold  Abraham  once  more  :  he 
received  an  order  at  which  nature  shuddered  ;  yet 


SERMON  XVI.  341 

though  he  feels  as  a  father,  he  submits  as  a  believer. 
The  severity  of  the  trial  does  not  excite  any  improp- 
er sentiment  against  God  ;  it  is  a  bitter  cup,  but 
still  it  is  a  cup  given  by  the  hand  of  the  Father,  and 
he  prepares  to  drink  it  with  willingness  and  resig- 
nation. The  succours  of  grace  assuage"  the  pains 
of  nature,  and  he  says  with  a  composed,  a  resigned, 
a  willing  soul,  "  It  is  the  Lord,  let  him  do  what 
seemeth  him  good." 

3.  Christian  obedience  must  be  prompt.  Ail 
unnecessary  delay  must  be  carefully  avoided :  the 
moment  God  speaks,  the  injunction  must  be  com- 
plied with.  "  To-day  if  ye  will  hear  his  voice, 
harden  not  your  hearts ;"  behold  this  exemplified 
in  Abraham.  God  had  commanded  him  to  sacri- 
fice his  son — he  does  not  delay  the  execution  of  this 
order  till  he  might  in  the  course  of  time  become 
more  reconciled  to  a  separation  that  was  render- 
ed  doubly  poignant,  by  being  unexpected.  For 
"  Abraham  rose  up  early  in  the  morning,"  and  pre- 
pared immediately  to  execute  the  painful  duty  as- 
signed to  him.  Imitate  his  example,  christians ; 
when  the  Lord  calls,  do  not  say  with  those  who 
neglected  the  gracious  invitations  of  the  Saviour, 
"  Lord,  let  me  first  go  and  bury  my  father :"  your 
first  duty  is  to  obey  the  voice  of  your  master. 

II.  Whilst  christians  are  thus  instructed,  sinners 
are  reproved  by  thi<=  ?ubi^ct\     Thi  God  who  spake 


342  SERMON  XVI. 

to  Abraham,  speaks  to  you  also.  He  does  not,  it  is 
true,  address  you  immediately ;  but  through  his 
word,  his  spirit,  his  ministers,  and  his  providence  : 
yet  his  address  is  not  on  this  account  less  real  or  less 
binding.  He  said  to  Abraham,  '•  Take  now  thy 
son,  thine  only  son  Isaac,  whom  thou  lovest,  and 
offer  him  as  a  burnt-offering  unto  me."  He  cries 
to  you,  "  Sinners,  seize  those  iniquities  which  you 
love;  your  sensuality,  your  worldly-mindedness, 
your  injustice,  your  revenge,  your  intemperance, 
your  unholy  passions  and  affections ;  slay  them  that 
they  may  not  lead  you  to  destruction ;  let  the  fire 
of  divine  love  penetrate  to  your  hearts,  and  consume 
them  entirely,"  that  they  may  be  a  burnt-offering 
to  the  Lord.  Ah  !  my  brethren,  Abraham  had  a 
harder  trial  than  this,  yet  he  did  not  hesitate  to  per- 
form it ;  and  will  you,  who  live  under  the  clear  light 
of  the  gospel,  which  shews  you  obligations  to  obey 
God,  which  Abraham  knew  but  faintly ;  will  you 
from  whom  nothing  is  demanded  half  so  rending  to 
the  heart  as  what  was  demanded  from  him — tell  me, 
will  you  fall  so  far  beneath  this  father  of  the  faithful 
in  obeying  the  voice  of  God  ?  Imitate  this  holy  pat- 
riarch, or  he  will  rise  up  against  you  in  the  day  of 
judgment. 

III.  And  you,  mourners,  who  are  weeping  over 
the  tombs  of  those  who  were  dear  to  you,  come  and 
behold  in  Abraham  a  model  and  consoler.  Were 
you  more  attached  to  the  parent,  the  child,  the  friend 


SKRMQN  XVL  £4| 

whom  you  lament,  than  this  tenderest  of  fathers  was 
to  this  most  beloved  of  sons :  yet  he  resigns  him  to 
death  with  calmness  and  submission.  Do  you  wish 
to  know  what  was  that  powerful  principle  which 
enabled  him  thus  to  bear  so  afflictive  a  separation  ? 
You  are  taught  it  by  the  apostle  Paul :  "  By  faith 
Abraham  when  he  was  tried,  offered  up  Isaac." 
Believing  in  the  power  and  wisdom  of  God,  he  knew 
that  all  things  were  wisely  ordered  by  him,  and  that 
the  highest  duty,  as  well  as  the  greatest  wisdom  of 
feeble,  short-sighted  man,  is  to  submit  unreservedly 
to  omniscience,  guided  by  fatherly  affection.  Faith 
taught  him  that  the  glories  of  the  unseen  world  were 
reserved  for  his  pious  son ;  and  that,  however  dark 
and  perplexing  the  schemes  of  providence  may  ap- 
pear, "  it  shall  always  be  well  with  the  righteous. '" 
Cultivate  this  faith  in  the  power,  the  wisdom,  and 
the  goodness  of  God— it  will  be  a  prop  to  your 
soul  when  all  earthly  supports  shall  fail ;  and  by  it 
you  will  be  enabled  to  offer  up  your  friends  to  God. 
when  he  calls  for  them,  with  resignation  and  calm- 
ness. 

But,  my  brethren,  all  these  lessons  are  taught  us 
with  greater  force,  when  we  contemplate  him  of 
whom  Isaac  was  so  illustrious  a  type.  Will  you 
learn  the  characteristics  of  obedience,  the  necessity 
of  renouncing  sin,  the  duty  of  submitting  without 
murmuring  to  the  most  afflictive  providences  ? — - 
Leave  Moriah  and  ascend  to  Calvary.  Behold  there 

Yy 


344  SERMON  XVL 

the  true  Isaac  ascending  the  hill,  bearing  the  wood 
on  which  he  is  to  be  offered  as  a  sacrifice  :  behold 
him  extended  upon  it :  He,  like  the  son  of  Abra- 
ham, is  not  constrained  to  lay  down  his  life  ;  the 
offering  is  voluntary.  The  hand  of  his  Father  is 
raised  to  smite  him — Ah  !  no  voice  is  now  heard 
which  restrains  the  stroke  ;  no  other  victim  is  pro- 
vided by  God — the  life  blood  of  Jesus  gushes  from 
his  wounds.  Whilst  we  see  this  Saviour  thus  des- 
poiling himself  of  his  glory,  submitting  to  every 
indignity  and  pain,  and  at  last  laying  down  his  life 
for  our  sakes — shall  we  not  obey  him  without  re- 
serve or  limitation  ?  shall  we  esteem  any  duty  too 
painful,  any  trial  too  severe  to  be  undergone  for  the 
sake  of  this  Saviour?  Shall  not  our  obedience  to 
him  be  willing  ?  he  is  too  dear  a  friend,  he  has  done 
too  much  for  us  to  permit  that  we  should  serve  him 
heartlessly  and  grudgingly.  Shall  not  our  obedience 
to  him  be  prompt  ?  He  delayed  not  to  work  our  de- 
liverance ;  when  he  was  for  us  to  be  baptized  with 
the  baptism  of  suffering  and  death,  he  was  straitened 
and  afflicted  until  it  was  accomplished ;  he  hasted 
to  consummate  his  mediatorial  office  by  the  oblation 
of  himself.  And  shall  we  then,  who  call  ourselves 
his  disciples,  delay  and  procrastinate  the  perform- 
ance of  our  duties? 

Sinners,  turn  to  this  same  object,  that  you  may 
learn  to  sacrifice  all  your  criminal  passions  and  pur- 
suits to  God  calling  upon  you  to  destroy  them. 


SERMON  XVI.  345 

Whilst  you  see  this  divine  victim  pierced  by  your 
sins,  murdered  by  your  transgressions — will  you 
not  in  return  immolate  these  sins  and  transgressions? 
Whilst  you  see  Jesus  "  bruised  and  put  to  grief 
for  your  iniquities" — smitten  by  the  hand  of  a  Fa- 
ther, whilst  he  stands  as  your  pledge  and  surety  ; 
will  you  not  bring  these  iniquities  to  the  foot  of  the 
cross,  and  there  slay  them  before  him  ? 

Finally,  do  you,  mourners,  direct  your  eyes  to 
this  sad  spectacle  ;  and,  seeing  the  sorrows  of  him 
of  whom  Isaac  was  so  feeble  a  type,  learn  to  bear 
your  griefs  with  resignation  and  composure  :  What ! 
will  you  repine  at  your  small  portion  of  sorrows, 
when  your  master  has  undergone  so  much  keener 
agonies  ?  What !  when  God  gave  the  son  of  his 
love  to  such  inconceivable  tortures  for  our  sakes, 
shall  we  be  unwilling  that  he  should  afflict  us  in  so 
much  smaller  a  degree,  and  with  the  design  that  we 
"  may  be  made  partakers  of  his  holiness  ?"  Oh,  no  ! 
let  the  tears,  the  anguish,  and  the  blood  of  Jesus, 
suspend  our  sighs  and  silence  our  murmurs ;  let  us 
even  rejoice  that  he  calls  us  to  a  fellowship  in  his 
sufferings,  in  order  that  we  may  be  fitted  for  his 
glory,  and  be  prepared  "  to  sit  down  with  Abraham, 
with  Isaac,  and  Jacob,  in  the  kingdom  of  our  heav- 
enly Father." 


SERMON  XVII. 

THE  SINNER  HIS  OWN  DESTROYER. 

Hosea  xiii.  9. 

"  0  Israel^  thou  hast  destroyed  thyself" 

MY  brethren,  if  we  beheld  a  person  murder- 
ed and  weltering  in  his  blood,  or  the  smoking  ruins 
of  a  city  which  had  been   fired  by   incendiaries, 
there  is  not  one  of  us  who  would  not  be  desirous  to 
discover  the  cause  of  these  miseries ;  there  is  not  one 
of  us  who  would  not  immediately  and  anxiously  en. 
quire,  who  were  the  authors  of  these  horrid  deeds  ? 
Thus  affected  by  temporal  distresses,  shall  we  look 
with   indifference  upon  eternal   agonies !     Prying 
with  solicitude  into  the  nature  and  origin  of  smal- 
ler evils,  shall  we  content  ourselves  with   casting 
a  cool  and  rapid  glance  on  the  tortures  of  the  ac- 
cursed, and  neglect  to  enquire  into  the  origin  and 
source  of  these  tortures  ?  Let  us  not  act  thus  con- 
tradictorily  :  let  us  strip  off  the  covering  from  the 
infernal  pit,  and  looking  down  into  it,  behold  those 
"  chains  of  darkness ;"  that  "  smoke  which  ascend- 
eth  forever,"  that  "  fire  which  never  is  quenched," 
that  "  worm  which  nei  er  dieth :"    Let  us  listen  to 


SERMON  XVir,  347 

those  groans  and  lamentations  which  re-echo  round 
this  dreary  abode ;  and  whilst  with  faithfulness  and 
trembling  we  consider  these  agonies,  let  us  rever- 
ently cry  to  the  Fountain  of  light,  who  is  it  holy 
God,  that  hath  dug  this  abyss  ?  Who  is  it  that  hath 
pushed  these  sufferers  into  it  ?  Who,  who  is  the 
author  of  this  unutterable  woe  ?  To  this  question 
the  God  of  truth  replies  in  our  text :  "  Israel,  thou 
hast  destroyed  thyself:"  Sinners,  you  are  the  au- 
thors of  your  own  perdition  :  you  have  forged  those 
chains  which  bind  you  ;  you  have  kindled  those 
flames  which  consume  y  ou  ;  you  have  pulled  down 
that  vengeance  which  fills  you  with  horror  and  sinks 
you  in  despair. 

This  is  the  decision  of  that  God  "  who  cannot 
be  deceived,"  and  who  cannot  deceive.  When  he 
speaks  thus  clearly,  surely  it  is  the  duty  of  sinners 
to  acknowledge  his  truth  and  believe  his  declara- 
tions. But  do  they  make  this  acknowledgement  ? 
Do  they  exercise  this  belief?  No:  in  their  hearts 
and  sometimes  with  their  lips,  they  dare  blasphem- 
ously to  cast  the  blame  of  their  destruction  from 
themselves  upon  God.  Sometimes  it  is  his  decree 
Which  constrains  them ;  sometimes  it  is  the  withhold- 
ing of  his  grace  which  excuses  them ;  sometimes 
it  is  the  force  of  temptation  and  their  own  inability, 
which  exempts  them  from  blame, 


348  SERMON  XVII. 

Since  by  such  pleas  the  sinner  quiets  the  clamours 
of  his  conscience  and  dishonours  the  God  whom 
we  love,  let  us  strive  to  strip  him  of  these  pleas  and 
vindicate  the  cause  of  God.  These  objects  will  be 
attained  by  a  careful  meditation  on  the  following 
proposition,  which  naturally  flows  from  the  text : 

The  destruction  of  impenitent  sinners  is  procured 
by  themselves;  or,  in  other  words,  the  accursed 
must  lay  all  the  blame  of  their  perdition,  not  on  God 
but  on  themselves. 

Two  things  are  requisite  for  the  illustration  of 
this  proposition : 

I.  We  must  establish  its  truth  by  arguments. 

II.  We  must  answer  the  objections  that  are  made 
against  it. 

You  have  before  you  the  whole  division  of  the 
ensuing  discourse. 

I.  That  the  destruction  of  the  impenitent  is  pro- 
cured by  themselves,  will  be  evident  to  you  if  you 
attend  to  the  attributes,  the  word,  the  conduct  of 
God,  the  sentiments  of  believers,  and  the  confessions 
of  sinners. 


SERMON  XVIL  349 

1.  The  attributes  of  God.  Every  perfection  of 
Deity  must  be  prostrated  and  trampled  upon,  before 
the  blame  can  be  cast  upon  him  for  the  perdition  of 
sinners.  Where  would  be  his  justice,  if  the  mise- 
rable victims  of  despair  could  address  him  as  they 
sunk  into  the  flames,  and  say  with  truth — Thou  art 
the  procuring  cause  of  that  woe  which  I  am  about 
to  suffer — it  is  owing  to  thee  alone  that  I  have  not 
escaped  this  torment  ?  Where  would  be  his  tender 
mercy ,  his  infinite  love,  his  abounding  grace,  if  the 
helpless,  hopeless  inhabitants  of  hell  could  look  up 
to  his  throne  and  cry,  There  sits  the  Being  who 
sent  me  hither  :  it  is  his  fault  and  not  mine,  that  in- 
stead of  a  tortured  fiend,  I  am  nnt  an  holy  angel  ! 
Where  would  be  his  veracity,  if  the  plain  assertion 
in  our  text,  and  many  others  equally  express,  might 
be  charged  with  untruth  ?  Look  over  his  other  at- 
tributes, and  you  will  find  that  in  a  similar  manner 
they  must  all  be  violated  by  the  denial  of  this  propo- 
sition. Sinners,  is  it  a  small  matter,  think  you,  thus 
"  to  charge  God  foolishly ;"  thus  blasphemously  to 
strip  him  of  his  perfections,  and  represent  him  as  a 
monster  of  injustice,  of  cruelty,  and  of  falsehood  ? 

2.  After  thus  considering  the  attributes,  attend 
to  the  word  of  God.  What  terms  does  it  use  when 
it  speaks  of  his  nature.  When  he  makes  his  name 
known  unto  Moses,  he  proclaims ;  "  The  Lord, 
the  Lord  God,  merciful  and  gracious,  long-suffer- 


350  SERMON  XVII. 

ingand  abundant  in  goodness  and  truth,  keeping 
mercy  for  thousands,  forgiving  iniquity,  transgres- 
sion, and  sin."  And  elesewhere  he  declares,  "  I 
am  the  Lord,  who  exercise  loving-kindness,  right- 
eousness, and  judgment ;  for  in  these  things  I  de- 
light, saith  the  Lord."  When  the  church  of  Israel 
worshipped  him  they  declared,  "  Thou  art  a  God 
ready  to  pardon,  gracious  and  merciful,  slow  to  an- 
ger and  of  great  kindness."  When  his  eternal  Son 
would  give  us  a  true  view  of  his  Father's  character, 
he  assures  us  that  his  goodness  so  infinitely  ex- 
ceeds that  of  any  creature,  that  on  a  comparison  it 
may  be  said,  "  There  is  none  good,  save  God." 
When  John  would  teach  us  the  nature  of  Him  for 
whom  his  heart  burned  with  such  warm  affection, 
he  exclaims  "  God  is  love." — Now  if  God  be  to 
blame  for  the  sinner's  perdition,  these  and  a  thou- 
sand similar  texts,  are  not  merely  unmeaning,  they 
are  false. 

When  God  beholds  sinners  obstinately  despising 
his  calls,  scorning  his  proffered  grace,  and  rushing 
on  to  destruction,  what  is  his  language  ?  "  O  that 
they  were  wise ;  that  they  understood  this ;  that 
they  would  consider  their  latter  end  !"  "  O  that  my 
people  had  hearkened  unto  me!"  "  O  that  thou 
hadst  known  at  least  in  this  thy  day,  the  things  that 
belong  to  thy  peace !"  "  Turn  ye,  turn  ye  from  your 
evil  way,  for  why  will  ye  die,  O  house  of  Israel  T' 


SERMON  XVII.  bSl 

"  How  shall  I  give  thee  up,  Ephraim  ?  How  shall 
I  deliver  thee,  Israel  ?  How  shall  I  make  thee  as 
Admah  ?  How  shaH  I  set  thee  as  Zeboiim  ?"  Now 
if  God  be  to  blame  for  the  sinner's  perdition,  all 
these  tender  expostulations  must  be  only  a  pompous 
display  of  unreal  feelings ;  all  these  pathetic  com- 
plaints must  be  only  vain  and  delusive  mockery. 

Besides,  God  gives  us  many  express  and  une- 
quivocal assurances  that  he  would  "  have  all  men  to 
be  saved  ;"  "  that  lie  is  not  willing  that  any  should 
perish,  but  that  all  should  come  to  the  knowledge 
of  the  truth  :"  and  lest  these  assurances  should  not 
satisfy  us,  he  has  confirmed  them  by  his  oath  ;  and 
"  since  he  could  swear  by  no  greater,  hath  sworn 
by  himself,"  saying,  "  As  I  live  saith  the  Lord,  I 
have  no  pleasure  in  the  death  of  the  wicked,  but  that 
the  wicked  turn  from  his  way  and  live."  Now  if 
God  be  to  blame  for  the  sinner's  perdition,  these 
assurances  and  this  oath  must  be  untrue  :  the  God 
of  heaven  must  not  only  be  a  deceiver,  he  must 
also  be  perjured. 

You  shudder,  my  brethren,  and  you  justly  shud- 
der at  so  impious  a  conclusion  :  but  it  is  a  conclu- 
sion which  we  must  necessarily  embrace,  unless  we 
maintain  that  the  ungodly  are  themselves  the  authors 
and  procurers  of  their  eternal  woe.  "  O  Israel, 
thou  hast  destroyed  thyself." 

Zz 


352  SERMON  XVIL 

3.  From  considering  the  word,  let  us  pass  to  an 
examination  of  the  conduct  of  God  ;  and  whether 
we  reflect  on  the  manner  in  which  he  has  acted 
towards  our  race  in  general,  or  towards  each  one  of 
m  in  particular,  we  must  be  convinced  that  if  we 
are  lost,  the  blame  of  our  perdition  must  rest  en- 
tirely on  ourselves. 

He  created  our  race  pure  and  holy,  enstamped 
with  his  own  image,  having  no  criminal  desires,  no 
tendency  to  evil,  no  irregular  appetites.     He  endu- 
ed us  with  reason  to  direct  our  conduct,  with  con- 
science to  point  us  to  duty,  with  affections  which 
could  be  satisfied  only  when  fixed  upon  the  sove- 
reign good.     He  barred  against  us  the  gates  to  per- 
dition ;  and  it  was  man,  not  God,  which  burst  open 
these  gates  to  make  a  passage  to  woe.     When  we 
had  thus  fallen,  when  the  flames  already  were  kind- 
ling around  us,  when  the  curses  of  a  violated  cove- 
nant were  just  descending  on  our  heads,  and  we 
could  find  no  refuge,  the  Lord  interposed  and  res- 
cued us.     Entering  into  a  covenant  of  grace,  he 
made  salvation  possible  ;  he  gave  up  the  Son  of  his 
bosom  to  fulfil  the  law  in  our  behalf,  and  to  bear 
the    punishment  due  for  our  sins ;  he  offers   the 
righteousness  and  merits  of  this  Son,  to  all,  without 
exception,  who  will  accept  him  as  their  Ruler  and 
Redeemer.     The  sentiments  of  conscience,  the  de- 
clarations of  his  word,  his  fearful  threatenings,  the 
instructions  of  the  pious,  the  attractive  displays  of 


SERMON  XVII.  353 

heavenly  glory,  the  dreadful  denunciations  of  future 
misery,  are  so  many  mounds  and  barriers  with 
which  he  has  guarded  the  avenues  to  destruction. 
The  transgressor  must  leap  over  these  mounds  be- 
fore he  can  plunge  into  destruction ;  he  must  force 
these  barriers  before  he  can  seize  on  death.  Besides 
all  this,  God  has  freely  offered  his  blessed  Spirit  as  a 
safe  and  unerring  guide  to  heaven  to  all  who  will 
ask  for  him  sincerely,  humbly,  and  under  a  sense  of 
their  need  :  He  has  caused  the  blood  of  the  Saviour 
to  flow,  an  ocean  of  mercy,  between  us  and  hell. 
And  after  thou  hast  done  all  this,  O  my  God,  shall 
we  still  dare  to  say  that  thou  art  the  cause  of  our  de- 
struction ?  No,  no  :  "  To  thee  belongeth  righteous- 
ness" and  mercy ;  but  to  us  shame  and  confusion  of 
face." 

After  thus  thinking  of  his  conduct  towards  our 
race  in  general,  think  of  his  conduct  to  you  in  par- 
ticular. How  much  has  he  done  to  deter  you  from 
misery,  to  allure  you  to  happiness  ?  How  many 
times  has  he  called  to  you  by  his  providence,  by  his 
word,  by  his  ministers,  by  his  people,  by  his  Spirit — 
how  many  times  has  he  called  to  you  in  all  these  dif- 
ferent manners,  "  Why  will  ye  die  V  Though  his 
dealings  have  been  diverse,  yet  there  is  not  one  of 
you  to  whom  he  has  not  given  numerous  assistances 
and  encouragements  in  the  path  to  heaven.  To  this 
person  he  has  given  a  pious  parent ;  to  that  a  holy 
wife  or  husband ;  who  have  with  earnest  solicitude 


354,  SERMON  XVII. 

and  with  bitter  tears,  besought  their  sinful  relatives 
to  think  of  the  concerns  of  eternity.  You  have  re- 
ceived from  him  riches  and  pleasures,  that  he  might 
draw  you  through  gratitude  to  devote  yourself  unto 
him.  You  have  received  from  him  disappointment, 
affliction,  poverty,  and  pains,  that  finding  no  joy 
upon  earth,  you  might  be  driven  to  seek  spiritual 
pleasures.  You  were  in  imminent  danger  of  sud- 
den death  whilst  you  were  unprepared  for  it ;  but  his 
providence  warded  of  the  stroke,  and  lengthened  out 
your  season  of  probation.  You  were  brought  by 
sickness  to  the  borders  of  the  grave,  and  standing 
on  the  brink  of  the  pit  were  just  ready  to  take  the 
final  plunge.  God  stretched  forth  from  heaven  the 
arm  of  his  power,  pulled  you  from  the  brow  of  the 
precipice,  set  you  at  a  distance  from  it,  and  waited  to 
see  whether  you  would  be  instructed  by  the  peril 
from  which  you  had  been  delivered.  My  brethren,  let 
each  of  you  fill  up  this  sketch  for  himself.  Let  each  of 
you  silently  review  the  conduct  of  God  to  you,  from 
the  time  that  you  first  laid  on  the  bosom  of  your  mo- 
ther to  the  present  moment.  Mark  attentively  the 
mercies  you  have  received,  the  dangers  from  which 
you  have  been  saved,  the  long-suffering  compassion 
which  has  been  exercised  towards  you,  the  calls 
and  invitations  of  God  which  have  sounded  in  your 
ears,  the  means  of  grace — the  public  instructions  and 
the  private  helps  which  you  have  enjoyed,  the  mov- 
ings  of  the  Spirit  upon  your  hearts  inciting  you  to 
obedience.     Let  each  of  you  mark  these  circum 


SERMON  XVII.  355 

btances,  and  you  cannot  fail  to  be  convinced,  that  if 
you  perish,  you  must  be  the  authors  of  your  own 
perdition.     "  O  Israel  thou  hast  destroyed  thyself." 

4.  The  sentiments  of  all  believers  establish  this 
same  truth.  Enquire  of  them  why  they  so  long 
remained  in  the  road  to  destruction  :  ask  them  whe- 
ther God,  or  they,  were  to  blame,  that  they  did  not 
sooner  abandon  it.  They  will  without  hesitancy  re- 
ply to  you,  that  they  alone  were  in  fault ;  that  God 
invited  thern  and  was  willing  to  receive  them  ;  but 
that  their  own  obstinancy  and  impenitence,  made 
them  reject  his  invitations,  and  refuse  to  come  unto 
him.  And  can  it  be  conceived  for  a  moment  that 
christians  of  all  ages,  of  all  conditions,  of  all  deno. 
minations,  should  without  a  single  exception  con* 
cur  in  embracing  a  sentiment  so  mortifying  to  the 
pride  of  human  nature,  unless  this  sentiment  were 
established  by  scripture  and  confirmed  by  their  own 
feelings  ? 

5.  Finally,  remember  that  this  testimony  of  be- 
lievers is  corroborated  by  the  confessions  of  sinners 
themselves.  With  whatever  confidence  and  in^e- 
nuity  transgressors,  while  in  health  and  strength, 
may  assert  their  blamelessness  ;  with  whatever  im- 
piety and  boldness  they  may  charge  God  as  the  au- 
thor of  their  destruction,  yet  their  language  will  be 
changed  in  that  honest  hour  when  they  shall  have  to 
struggle  with  the  king  of  terrors.     I  have  more  than 


356  SERMON  XVII. 

once  heard  the  sinner,  while  he  supposed  that  death 
was  yet  at  a  distance  from  him,  quieting  his  con- 
science by  sophistical  reasoning,  and  excusing 
himself  for  his  continuance  in  guilt-  I  have  beheld 
this  same  sinner  stretched  on  the  bed  of  sickness, 
pale,  feeble,  languishing,  in  the  midst  of  the  tears 
and  the  sighs  of  his  relatives,  expecting  eaGh  mo- 
ment that  death  would  arrive  to  tear  his  unwilling 
soul  from  his  body,  and  bear  it  to  the  tribunal  of 
his  Judge.  Ah !  his  faltering  tongue  no  longer 
dared  to  extenuate  his  crimes  ;  his  trembling  lips 
abstained  from  their  unholy  charges  against  God  : 
but  shuddering  and  affrighted  by  considering  the 
misery  which  awaited  him,  he  exclaimed,  "  Fool 
that  I  was  to  have  rejected  an  offered  salvation  ;  to 
have  closed  my  ears  against  a  wooing  Redeemer  ;  to 
have  slighted  the  importunities  of  a  compassionate 
God.  I  perish — and  I  perish  under  the  agonizing 
reflection,  that  none  but  myself  is  to  blame." 

And  could  we  follow  sinners  beyond  the  grave, 
could  we  behold  them  in  their  torments,  and  hear 
the  sad  accents  which  burst  from  their  lips,  with 
what  emphasis,  what  energy  would  they  confirm 
the  truth  that  we  are  establishing.  Oh  !  were  it 
in  their  power,  they  would  give  millions  of  worlds 
to  be  freed  from  the  dreadful  reflection  that  their 
own  folly  brought  them  to  that  state  of  woe.  This 
torturing  remembrance,  We  have  destroyed  our- 
selves, preys  like  a  serpent  upon  their  souls,  and 
stings  them  to  madness. 


SERMON  XVII.  357 

Unite  all  the  reflections  which  have  been  made, 
and  you  will,  we  trust,  be  convinced  that  the  accurs- 
ed must  lay  all  the  blame  of  their  perdition,  not  on 
God,  but  on  themselves. 

Nevertheless,  sinners  object  to  this  truth ;  and 
they  found  the  principal  of  their  objections  on  the 
decrees  of  God,  and  on  the  inability  of  man.  We 
are  to  examine  these  objections  in  the 

lid.  Division  of  our  discourse. 

The  first  objection  which  the  sinner  makes  against 
the  doctrine  that  we  have  been  establishing  is  this : 
Since  God  has  decreed  whatsoever  comes  to  pass,  and 
since  his  decrees  are  irreversible,  it  will  follow  that 
if  I  am  destroyed,  it  will  be  through  the  compulsive 
power  of  the  divine  decree,  and  not  through  my  own 
fault.  On  this  very  common  objection  we  make  the 
following  remarks : 

1.  The  proofs  of  our  doctrine  have  been  drawn 
from  plain  and  simple  sources :  the  principles  on 
which  we  built  our  reasoning  were  clear ;  the  de- 
ductions from  them  were  intelligible,  and  level  to 
the  weakest  capacity.  But  on  the  contrary,  the  ob- 
jection is  drawn  from  a  subject  of  which  we  have 
very  inadequate  conceptions,  in  which  we  soon  get 
beyond  our  depth,  and  feel  ourselves  involved  in  dif- 
ficulties and  darkness.     Is  it  not  then  most  clear 


358  SERMON  XVii: 

that  an  objection  of  this  nature,  even  though  it  were 
insurmountable  to  us,  ought  nevertheless  to  have 
but  little  weight  against  such  a  body  of  clear  and 
perspicuous  evidence. 

2.  The  principle  on  which  this  objection  is  foun- 
ded is  not  a  just  one.  What  is  this  principle  ? 
That  when  two  doctrines  are  affirmed  in  the  scrip- 
ture, which  to  our  limited  capacity  appear  irrecon- 
cilable, we  are  authorized  to  embrace  the  one  and 
reject  the  other.  Why  is  this  principle  unjust  ? 
Because  another  person  on  precisely  the  same 
ground  may  reject  the  doctrine  which  we  embrace, 
and  embrace  the  doctrine  which  we  reject.  Let  me 
illustrate  my  meaning  from  the  case  before  us. 
Here  are  two  doctrines  which  we  suppose  to  be 
taught  by  the  scriptures  :  that  the  sinner  is  the  au- 
thor of  his  own  perdition,  and  that  God  has  decreed 
whatsoever  comes  to  pass.  The  sinner  says,  I  can- 
not reconcile  these  doctrines,  and  therefore  I  will 
reject  the  former.  And  the  Arminian  on  precisely 
the  same  principle  may  say,  I  cannot  reconcile  these 
doctrines,  and  therefore  I  will  reject  the  latter.  Now 
then  that  cannot  be  a  just  principle,  which  is  so 
vague  and  uncertain  in  its  application,  as  to  lead  two 
different  persons  to  conclusions  and  sentiments  di- 
ametrically opposite. 

3.  Permit  mc  again  to  present  to  you  the  interest- 
ing reasonings  of  an  excellent  divine  on  this  sub- 


SERMON  XVII.  359 

ject.*  When  the  sinner  asserts  that  these  two  pro- 
positions, God  has  irreversibly  decreed  -whatever 
conies  to  pass,  and  the  accursed  can  blame  none  but 
themselves  for  their  perdition — when  the  sinner 
asserts  that  these  two  propositions  are  irreconcilable, 
there  are  only  two  ways  in  which  we  can  answer  him: 
the  first  is,  accurately  and  minutely  to  compare 
the  decrees  of  God  with  the  conduct  and  disposi- 
tions of  sinners ;  and  to  make  it  evident  from  this 
comparison,  that  sinners  notwithstanding  these  de- 
crees have  a  perfect  freedom  of  will,  and  are  not 
compelled  to  embrace  perdition  :  the  second  is, 
to  refer  this  question  to  the  decision  of  a  Being  of 
unsuspected  knowledge  and  veracity,  whose  tes- 
timony is  unexceptionable,  and  whose  decisions  are- 
infallible.  Now  the  first  of  these  methods  is  imprac- 
ticable :  since  we  do  not  know  the  arrangement, 
the  extent,  the  combinations  of  the  decrees  of  God, 
we  cannot  possibly  accurately  compare  them  with 
human  conduct.  The  second  Way  is  possible : 
There  is  a  Being  capable  of  deciding  this  point — a 
Being  who  has  decided  it ;  this  Being  is  God,  from 
whose  decisions  there  can  be  no  appeal.  I  will  sup- 
pose you  to  put  up  this  petition  to  God—"  Doth  the 
eternal  destination  which  thou  hast  made  of  my 
soul  before  I  had  a  being ;  do  what  they  call  in  th« 
schools  predestination  and  reprobation,  destroy  this 
proposition — that  if  I  perish,  my  destruction  pro- 

*  Thii  whole  paragraph  from  Sauvin, 

SAa 


360  SERMON  XVII. 

ceeds  alone  from  myself?    My  God,  remove  this 
difficulty  and  lay  open  to  me  this  important  truth.'* 
Suppose,  my  brethren,  that  having  presented  this 
question,  God  should  answer  in  the  following  man- 
ner : — "  The  frailty  of  your  minds  renders  this  mat- 
ter incomprehensible  to  you  ;    it  is  impossible  for 
men  finite  as  you  are,  to  comprehend  the  whole 
extent  of  my  decrees,  and  to  see  in  a  clear  and  dis- 
tinct manner  the  influence  they  have  on  the  destinies 
of  men  :  but  I  who  formed  them  perfectly  under- 
stand them  ;  I  am  truth  itself  as  I  am  wisdom  ;    I 
do  declare  to  you  then,  that  none  of  my  decrees  offer 
violence  to  my  creatures,  and  that  your  destruction 
can  proceed  from  none  but  yourselves.     You  shall 
one  day  perfectly  understand  what  you  now  under- 
stand only  in  part ;  and  then  you  shall  see  with  your 
own  eyes,  what  you  now  see  only  with  mine.    Cease 
;o  anticipate  a  period  which  my  wisdom  defers  ; 
and  laying  aside  this  speculation,  attend  to  practice ; 
fully  persuaded  that  you  are  placed  between  reward 
and  punishment,  and  may  have  a  part  in  which  you 
please."   Is  it  not  true,  my  brethren,  that  if  God  had 
answered  in  this  manner,  it  would  be  carrying,  I  do 
not  say  rashness,  but  insolence  to  the  highest  degree 
to  object  against  this  tcstimonjr,  or  to  desire  more 
light  into  this  subject  at  present  ?  But  God  has  giv- 
en this  answer,  and  in  a  manner  infinitely  more  clear 
than  we  have  stated  it :  he  has  given  it  in  all  those 
passages  of  his  word,  which  attest  his  willingness 
:o  save  man  ;  and  therefore,  notwirhstanding  this 


SERMON  XVII.  361 

objection,  it  still  appears  true  that  the  sinner  has 
destroyed  himself. 

But  a  second  objection  is  urged.  It  is  founded 
on  the  inability  of  man.  "  God,"  says  the  sinner, 
"  does  not  deal  fairly  with  us  :  he  is  a  f  hard  mas- 
ter, gathering  where  he  has  not  strewed.'  He  re- 
quires of  me  certain  duties  which  I  cannot  perform — 
and  then  because  I  do  not  perform  them,  sentences 
me  to  woe."  This  is  the  objection  in  its  full  force. 
We  make  but  a  single  observation  in  reply  to  it. 
This  inability  instead  of  extenuating  your  crime  is 
the  very  essence  of  your  guilt. 

Inability  is  of  two  kinds,  natural  and  moral.  Na- 
tural inability  consists  in  a  defect  of  rational  facul- 
ties, bodily  powers,  or  external  advantages  :  this 
excuses  from  sin.  Moral  inability  consists  only  in 
the  want  of  a  proper  disposition  of  heart  to  use  our 
natural  ability  aright  :  this  is  the  essence  of  sin. 
We  will  illustrate  this  point  by  a  familiar  example. 
A  beggar  applies  for  relief  to  two  different  persons  ; 
the  first  says  to  him — "  I  perceive  your  misery  ;  1 
know  that  you  ought  to  be  relieved,  but  I  do  not 
possess  any  property,  and  therefore  I  am  totally  un- 
able to  relieve  you."  Here  is  an  instance  of  nature" 
inability,  and  it  perfectly  exempts  the  person  from  the 
sin  of  uncharitableness.  The  second  says  to  hum — 
"  I  perceive  your  misery  ;  I  know  that  you  ouglu 
to  be  relieved  ;  I  have  a  sufficiency  of  money  •  but 


362  SERMON  XVII. 

I  have  such  a  dreadful  hardness  of  heart  that  I  can- 
not pity  your  distresses,  and  that  I  am  totally  unable 
to  relieve  you."  Here  is  an  instance  of  moral  inabili- 
ty ;  instead  of  excusing  from  sin,  it  is  that  which  con- 
stitutes the  very  essence  of  the  sin,  and  which  ren- 
ders the  man  uncharitable. 

Now  then,  sinners,  let  us  examine  under  which 
species  of  inability  you  lie.     If  under  the  first,  you 
are  excusable  ;  if  under  the  second,  you  are  inex- 
cusable.    Natural  inability  then  consists  in  a  defect 
of  rational  faculties,   bodily  powers,  or  external  ad- 
vantages.    If  you  were  without  any  reason  to  under- 
stand the  truths  of  the  gospel,  without  any  external 
senses  by  which  these  truths  could  be  conveyed  to 
your  mind,  without  any  opportunity  of  ever  hearing 
of  these  truths,  you  would  not  be  blamable  for  not 
closing  with  the  gospel  offers  of  salvation.     But  that 
understanding  which  is  employed  in  the  investiga- 
tion of  natural  truths,  is  capable  of  being  employed 
in  the  investigation  of  spiritual  truths ;  but  that  love 
which  is  exercised  upon  the  creature,  is  capable  of 
being  exercised  upon  the  Creator ;  but  your  outward 
senses  and  external  situation  are  such  that  you  have 
known  these  things  :  there  is  then  no  natural  ina- 
bility in  your  case ;  you  labour  only  under  a  moral 
inability.     The  question  then  recurs,  does  this  ex- 
cuse you  ?  On  the  contrary,  it  is  this  which  consti- 
tutes your  sin.     Moral  inability  consists,  as  we  have 
^aid,  in  a  want  of  a  proper  disposition  of  heart  tct 


SERMON  XVH.  363 

use  our  natural  ability  aright — Moral  inability  con- 
sists in  viciousness  of  heart  and  depravity  of  disposi- 
tion. When  you  say  therefore,  "  I  am  excusable, 
because  I  am  morally  unable  to  repent,  to  believe, 
to  love  God ;"  you  say  in  other  words,  "  I  am  ex- 
cusable, because  I  have  so  dreadfully  guilty  and 
corrupted  a  heart,  that  I  have  no  disposition  to  re- 
pent, to  believe,  to  love  God."  What  says  con- 
science to  this  plea  ?  What  would  a  civil  judge  say 
to  such  an  apology  in  the  case  of  murder  or  theft  ? 
No,  sinner,  this  impotency  is  so  far  from  excusing 
you,  that  it  aggravates  your  guilt  ;  the  greater  our 
moral  inability,  the  greater  is  our  disposition  to  evil, 
and  therefore  the  greater  our  crime.  Notwithstand- 
ing this  objection  then,  it  still  appears  that  the  sin. 
rier  destroys  himself. 

And  now,  sinners,  what  shall  henceforth  be  your 
conduct  ?  You  have  seen  that  if  you  are  lost,  you 
must  voluntarily  embrace  perdition.  Will  you 
still  act  so  much  against  the  instincts  of  nature,  so 
worse  than  brutishly  as  to  choose  destruction.  Do 
you  say,  I  do  not  choose  destruction  ;  destruction 
is  hateful  to  me.  In  itself  I  grant  that  it  is  so ;  but 
he  who  knows  that  perdition  is  inseparably  connect- 
ed with  any  course  of  conduct,  and  yet  will  pursue 
this  course  of  conduct,  loves  perdition,  if  not  for  its 
own  sake,  yet  for  that  which  is  annexed  to  it.  He 
that  will  drink  a  pleasant  potion,  though  he  knows 
H  to  be  impregnated  with  poison,  surely  chooses 


G64  SERMON  XVII. 

death.  I  affectionately  and  importunately  beseech 
you  not  to  act  so  cruelly  to  yourselves.  In  the 
name  of  my  Master,  I  once  more  offer  to  you  all  the 
benefits  purchased  by  Christ,  and  all  the  glories  of 
heaven.  If  you  neglect  this  proffer,  remember  that 
we  must  soon  meet  at  the  tribunal  of  God,  and  I 
summon  this  assembly  then  to  bear  testimony  that 
you  have  rejected  an  offered  Jesus, 


SERMON  XVIII. 

LAST  JUDGMENT. 

Revelations  xx.  11,  12,  13. 

"  And  I  saw  a  great  white  throne  and  him  that  sat  on  it ; 
from  whose  face  the  earth  and  the  heaven  fled  away,  and 
there  was  found  no  place  for  them*  And  I  saw  the  dead 
small  and  great  stand  before  God,  and  the  books  were 
opened;  and  another  book  was  opened  which  was  the 
book  of  life,  and  the  dead  were  judged  out  of  those  things 
which  were  written  in  the  books,  according  to  their  works* 
And  the  sea  gave  up  the  dead  which  were  in  it ;  and  death 
and  hell  delivered  up  the  dead  which  were  in  them  ;  and 
they  were  judged  every  man  according  to  their  works." 

SUCH,  my  brethren,  are  the  circumstances  of 
that  final,  infallible,  irreversible  judgment  which 
we  must  all  undergo.  Time,  as  it  rapidly  flies, 
bears  us  nearer  to  this  decisive  bar.  In  a  very  little 
While,  the  period  afforded  us  for  preparing  to  appear 
there  with  joy,  will  be  past.  In  a  very  little  while 
our  pulses  will  cease  to  throb  and  our  hearts  forget 
to  beat.  Our  friends  will  follow  our  lifeless  corpses 
to  the  tomb  ;  and  the  dust  of  the  church-yard  shall 
press  upon  our  cold  and  unpalpitating  breasts.  Even 
before  our  friends  shall  perform  these  last  offices  of 
humanity  for  us,  and  hide  our  corrupting  bodies  in 
the  grave— our  snuls  shall  stand  before  the  judg- 


3dt>  SERMON  XVIII. 

ment  seat  of  Christ,  shall  be  by  him  acquitted  or 
condemned,  and  shall  enter  upon  their  endless  state. 
After  the  souls  of  successive  generations  shall  have 
been  thus  acquitted  or  condemned,  and  their  bodies 
shall  have  mouldered  in  the  dust :  after  the  period 
appointed  from  eternity  for  the  duration  of  our  sys- 
tem shall  have  elapsed,  then  the  end  shall  come — 
then  that  general  judgment  will  take  place,  which 
will  confirm  all  the  particular  judgments  before  pro- 
nounced, and  shew  to  the  assembled  universe  the 
justice  and  mercy  of  the  King  of  kings.  It  is  this 
general  judgment  on  which  we  are  now  to  meditate. 
The  Lord  grant  that  this  exercise  may  be  so  ac- 
companied by  his  Spirit,  that  we  may  be  enabled 
to  stand  then  fearless  and  undaunted  amidst  the 
wreck  of  nature. 

When  the  purposes  of  God,  with  respect  to  man- 
kind, shall  have  been  accomplished,  then  "  a  mighty 
angel  shall  descend  from  the  skies,  clothed  with  a 
cloud,  and  a  rainbow  upon  his  head,  and  his  face 
shining  as  the  sun — and  standing  upon  the  sea  and 
upon  the  earth,  he  shall  lift  up  his  hand  to  heaven, 
and  swear  by  Him  that  liveth  for  ever  and  ever,  that 
time  shall  be  no  longer  :"  (Rev.  x.  1,  5,  6.)  The 
oath  shall  no  sooner  proceed  from  his  lips  than  it 
shall  be  ratified  by  the  God  of  heaven.  The  voice 
of  the  archangel  and  the  trump  of  God  shall  resound 
through  the  universe ;  shall  penetrate  the  lowest 
graves  and  the  depths  of  the  sea,  and  shall  pause 


SERMON  XVIII.  367 

the  sleeping  dust  to  spring  into  new  life.  At  this 
delightful  moment,  light  shall  beam  upon  the  tombs 
of  the  saints ;  for  "  the  dead  in  Christ  shall  rise 
first."  The  particles  of  their  frames,  which  in  all 
their  various  changes  have  been  preserved  by  om- 
niscience, shall  re-assemble  at  the  command  of  God. 
Their  bodies  shall  rise  from  the  dust,  clothed  with 
new  properties  and  with  heavenly  attributes,  shining 
like  the  sun  in  the  kingdom  of  their  Father.  Their 
souls  which  have  rested  during  the  state  of  sepa- 
ration in  the  bosom  of  Jesus,  shall  rapidly  fly  to  be 
re-united  to  their  former  companions,  and  to  obtain 
with  them  the  consummation  of  bliss.  At  the  same 
instant,  all  the  believers  that  are  then  alive  upon  the 
earth,  shall  be  "  changed  in  the  twinkling  of  an 
<eye,"  and  caught  up  to  meet  their  Saviour.  The 
righteous  being  thus  collected,  the  loud  peal  of  the 
trump  shall  again  float  on  the  air,  shake  the  earth  to 
its  centre,  and  re-echo  through  the  dreary  abodes 
of  hell.  The  ungodly  well  know  the  portentous 
sound  ;  and  shuddering,  trembling,  and  unwilling, 
rise  from  the  dust ;  whilst  their  souls  are  dragged 
from  the  place  of  torment  to  meet  those  bodies  once 
partakers  of  their  sin,  now  to  be  partakers  of  their 
punishment.  Thus  united,  they,  with  the  sinners 
that  are  upon  the  earth,  are  borne  through  the  air 
to  meet  their  offended  Lord.  All  mankind  beinp- 
thus  assembled,  the  loud  clangour  of  the  trump  again 
is  heard,  and  re-echoes  round  the  extensive  vaults 

of  heaven.     Hell  vomits  forth  itc  nctiihs,  and  the7 

3R 


368  SERMON  XVIII. 

apostate  spirits,  with  satan  at  their  head,  are  drags, 
ged,  oh  !  how  reluctantly !  to  the  dreadful  bar. — 
Thus  two  worlds  are  collected  to  be  judged  ;  and 
the  third  is  advancing  as  an  assistant  spectator. 

Whilst  these  preparations  are  making,  the  Judge 
approaches.  At  the  brightness  of  his  presence, 
the  sun  hides  its  beams  and  shrouds  itself  in  dark- 
ness. It  covered  itself  with  sack-cloth  when  the 
humbled  Jesus  expired  upon  Calvary  ;  it  starts 
back  with  astonishment  and  terrour  when  he  comes 
in  the  splendour  of  his  glory.  The  moon  lays 
aside  its  brilliancy  and  changes  into  blood  :  why- 
should  it  continue  to  measure  times  and  seasons 
when  eternity  commences  ?  The  stars  of  heaven 
shake  and  fall  from  their  spheres  ;  the  ■  expiring 
earth  trembles  in  mighty  throes  and  convulsions, 
and  is  enwrapped  in  flames  ;  the  heavens  shrink 
like  a  shrivelled  scroll  from  the  face  of  their  Creator. 

In  the  midst  of  circumstances  so  august  and  ter- 
rible, the  Judge  descends.  This  Judge  is  Jesus 
Christ,  to  whom  according  to  the  appointment  of 
the  most  sacred  Trinity  this  sublime  office  is  made 
appropriate — Jesus  Christ,  who  being  both  God 
and  man,  is  properly  constituted  the  Judge  between 
God  and  man;  Jesus  Christ  who  is  our  owner  as 
Creator,  our  purchaser  as  Redeemer,  and  therefore 
has  a  just  authority  to  judge  us  by  both  these  titles. 
W  ith  what  lustre  and  glory  this  Saviour  now  ap~ 


SERMON  XVIII.  369 

pears  !  how  different  from  the  despised  Nazarene  ! 
Instead  of  the  manger  at  Bethlehem,  he  sits  on  the 
throne  of  the  universe  ;  instead  of  the  humble  son 
of  Mary,  he  comes  as  the  eternal  son  of  God  ;  in- 
stead of  a  few  swaddling  cloths  as  the  sign  of  his 
advent,  the  sun  eclipsed  and  the  moon  darkened 
precede  his  appearav^e  ;  instead  of  appearing  in  the 
silence  of  midnight,  he  comes  in  the  midst  of  thun- 
ders and  lightnings  and  dissolving  systems  ;  instead 
of  being  unjustly  cited  to  a  criminal  bar,  he  sum- 
mons the  whole  world  to  answer  to  him  ;  instead 
of  the  crown  of  thorns,  he  bears  one  beaming  with 
glory  ;  instead  of  the  insulting  reed,  the  emblem  of 
mock- majesty,  he  wields  the  sceptre  of  the  uni- 
verse ;  instead  of  being  surrounded  by  a  reviling 
crowd  who  pour  upon  him  their  reproaches,  their 
contumelies,  their  curses,  he  is  attended  by  myriads 
of  the  angelic  host  who  prostrate  themselves  before 
him,  blessing  him  for  his  mercies  and  adoring  him 
for  his  perfections. 

Such  is  the  appearance  of  the  Judge — He  comes 
dressed  in  that  body  which  was  crucified  on  Calvary* 
and  which  now  inconceivably  glorified  and  exalted, 
is  taken  into  union  with  divinity,  and  remains  in 
heaven  the  eternal  monument  of  redeeming  love, 
In  this  he  comes  to  decide  the  destinies  of  men. 
The  prints  of  the  nails,  of  the  thorns,  of  the  spear* 
still  are  manifest,  and  a  flood  of  glory  beams  from 
these  precious  wounds.     O  joyful  spectacle  to  the? 


370  SERMON  XVIII. 

righteous,  who  see  in  the  sufferings  of  which  these 
wounds  are  the  memorial,  the  remission  of  their 
sins  !  O  terrible  view  to  the  wicked  who  have  cru- 
cified to  themselves  afresh  the  Son  of  God,  and 
trampled  upon  his  sacred  blood  ! 

Such  will  be  the  aspect  of  tke  Judge.  He  shall 
be  seated,  the  apostle  tells  us,  "  upon  a  great  white 
throne."  His  judgment- seat  is  denominated  a  throne, 
to  express  his  supreme  power,  and  to  shew  that 
there  can  be  no  appeal  from  his  decision  to  a  higher 
tribunal.  It  is  called  a  white  throne  to  denote  the 
bright  glory,  the  illustrious  light,  the  unspotted  pu- 
rity, and  the  awful  holiness  of  him  that  sits  upon  it. 
The  Judge  then  being  seated,  and  all  the  dead  small 
and  great  standing  before  him,  "  the  books  are 
opened.'*  This  is  a  figurative  expression,  the  im- 
port of  which  is  however  very  plain.  The  book 
of  divine  omniscience  shall  be  unfolded,  and  display 
to  every  individual  of  the  vast  assembly,  all  the 
thoughts,  words  and  actions  of  himself  and  others  : 
The  book  of  conscience  will  attest  the  accuracy  of 
this  record  :  The  books  of  nature,  of  the  law,  and 
of  the  gospel,  shall  be  expanded,  that  by  them  our 
conduct  may  be  tried :  and  finally,  "  the  book  of 
life"  will  be  unclosed,  which  contains  the  names  of 
all  those  who,  according  to  the  divine  declarations, 
have  a  title  to  the  heavenly  inheritance. 

Every  thing  being  thus  prepared,  the  Judge  sum- 


SERMON  XVIII.  371 

mons  the  righteous  to  the  tribunal ;  and  as  they 
were  raised,  so  they  will  be  judged  first,  in  order 
that  they  may  then  be  assessors  with  Jesus  Christ 
in  judging  men  and  angels.  (1  Cor.  vi.  2,  3.) 

It  is  a  question  on  which  divines  are  divided 
whether  the  $in$  of  the  pious  shall  be  publickly  pro- 
claimed and  manifested  in  the  great  day.  From  the 
near  relations  that  Jesus  sustains  to  his  people,  and 
the  tender  love  he  bears  to  them  ;  from  the  account 
of  the  proceedings  in  the  judgment,  which  he  has 
given  us  in  the  twenty-fifth  chapter  of  Matthew,  and 
in  which  the  good  deeds  of  the  righteous  alone  are 
mentioned  ;  from  God's  promising  to  "  blot  out  the 
transgressions"  of  his  people,  and  to  "  remember 
their  sins  no  more,"  (Is.  xliii.  25)  to  "  cast  them 
into  the  depth  of  the  sea,  and  behind  his  back  ;" 
(Mic.  vii.  18.  Is.  xxxviii.  17.) — from  the  exalted 
joy  and  unmingled  triumph  that  the  saints  will  feel 
on  that  day  \.  from  these  and  similar  considerations, 
some  have  concluded,  that  none  of  the  offences  of 
the  justified  will  be  mentioned.  Others  however 
supposing  that,  from  the  feebleness  of  our  powers 
and  the  narrowness  of  our  views,  we  cannot  tell 
how  infinite  love,  directed  by  infinite  wisdom  and 
aiming  at  the  everlasting  good  of  the  universe,  will 
be  exercised  towards  us  ;  considering  the  descrip- 
tion of  the  judgment  given  by  the  Saviour  as  con- 
taining only  the  great  outline  of  those  solemn  trans- 


372  SERMON  XVIII. 

actions ;  interpreting  the  promises  of  God  only  as' 
an  engagement  that  the  iniquities  of  his  people 
should  not  be  remembered  to  their  condemnation  j 
relying  on  those  numerous  texts  which  declare  that 
all  onr  actions  upon  the  earth  shall  then  be  manifest- 
ed ;  thinking  that  a  full  display  of  the  divine  grace 
and  power  in  the  salvation  of  rebels,  would  render 
a  view  of  their  former  conduct  and  feelings  requi- 
site ;  knowing  that  in  heaven  the  redeemed  remem- 
ber their  sins  without  impairing  their  bliss,  and  by 
the  recollection  of  them  feel  more  their  obligations 
to  redeeming  love : — others,  for  these  reasons  sup- 
pose that  the  iniquities  of  the  children  of  Jesus  will 
be  exhibited,  not  to  fill  them  with  misery,  but  to 
make  them  rise  higher  in  their  admiration  of  that 
mercy  which  plucked  them  as  brands  from  the  ever- 
lasting burnings.  Such  a  view  would  inspire  them 
with  sentiments  similar,  but  far  superior  to  those 
which  Paul  so  often  expresses,  when  assured  of  the 
love  of  his  Redeemer,  yet  recalling  his  crimes,  his 
overflowing  heart  labours  in  vain  to  declare  all  the 
emotions  of  gratitude,  all  the  ardours  of  love  with 
which  it  is  penetrated  and  inflamed. 

But  whatever  we  may  think  on  this  question,  it  is 
certain  that  their  good  deeds  are  recorded  in  the  book 
of  remembrance,  and  will  be  proclaimed  to  the 
universe ;  not  as  the  ground  of  their  acceptance, 
for  the  only  plea  for  justification  which  a  sinner  can 


SERMON  XVIII.  37S 

offer  is  the  blood  of  Jesus  ;  but  as  the  evidence  of 
their  union  to  Christ,  as  the  fruits  of  the  Spirit 
dwelling  within  them,  and  as  the  measure  of  their 
future  glory.  Then  every  penitential  tear  that  they 
have  shed,  every  groan  over  their  corruption  that 
they  have  uttered,  every  act  of  faith,  every  sigh 
after  heaven,  every  work  of  charity,  every  emotion 
of  love,  every  trait  of  obedience,  every  exercise  of 
zeal,  every  holy  duty,  every  suffering  they  have 
undergone  for  their  Lord,  every  renunciation  of  sin- 
ful enjoyments,  every  conflict  with  their  spiritual 
fqes,  will  be  manifested  to  the  vast  assembly  of  men, 
augels,  and  devils.  Then  the  mouths  of  those  who 
once  derided  them,  and  treated  them  as  hypocrites 
or  fanatics,  shall  be  closed,  and  it  will  evidently  ap- 
pear that,  with  all  their  lamented  imperfections, 
they  were  the  faith  ul  followers  of  the  Lamb. 

Their  piety  being  thus  made  so  manifest  that  the 
most  malignant  are  forced  to  acknowledge  it,  the 
Judge  turns  to  them,  and  with  infinite  benignity  and 
love  addresses  them,  saying,  *  Come,  ye  blessed 
of  my  Father,  inherit  the  kingdom  prepared  for 
you  from  the  foundation  of  the  world."  In  vain 
shall  we  attempt  to  conceive  the  transports  which 
will  swell  their  breasts  at  this  acquittal  by  their  be- 
loved and  almighty  Redeemer.  "What!"  they 
exclaim  in  extacy,  "  What !  are  we  indeed  de- 
clared  by  our  Saviour    to  be    blest!    we,    who 


374  SKUMON  XVIIL 

deserved  everlasting  perdition  ;  we,  against  whom 
the  thunders  of  the  law  had  been  directed;  we, 
whose  destruction  was  sought  by  satan,  sin,  and 
the  world  ;  we,  who  so  long  resisted  the  efforts  of 
mercy  and  who  lived  so  far  below  our  duty  and  our 
engagements  even  after  we  had  fled  for  refuge  to  the 
cross  ;  we,  whose  eyes  have  often  been  filled  with 
tears  and  whose  hearts  have  often  trembled  with  ap- 
prehension lest  we  should  not  stand  the  scrutiny  of 
this  solemn  day.  But  now  our  last  tear  has  been 
shed;  never  shall  our  heart  again  tremble,  except 
with  gratitude  and  joy.  We  shall  forever  dwell  in 
the  palace  of  the  King  of  kings,  enjoying  our  God 
without  a  possibility  of  being  separated  from  him. 
We  shall  forever  behold  the  face  of  our  blessed 
Redeemer  smiling  upon  us,  and  taste  that  fullness 
of  pleasures  which  is  at  his  right  hand  forever 
more.  From  our  full  hearts  even  now  shall  burst 
that  song,  which  will  be  ever  continued  and  ever 
new — Glory,  infinite  and  eternal,  to  that  grace  which 
hath  crowned  us  with  such  unmerited  mercies.'* 

The  righteous  being  thus  openly  acquitted  and 
acknowledged  by  their  Lord,  and  a  manifestation  of 
the  propriety  of  his  conduct  in  raising  them  to  glory 
having  been  made  to  all  the  spectators,  he  will  next 
prove  to  the  assembled  universe,  and  to  sinners 
themselves,  his  justice  in  condemning  them  to  eter- 
nal perdition.     The  books  are  again  opened,  and  all 


SERMON  XVIII.  575 

the  iniquities  of  the  open  sinner  and  unfruitful  pro- 
fessor are  fully  revealed.  On  earth  they  can  delude 
themselves  into  a  belief  that  their  hearts  are  not  op- 
posed to  God  ;  that  by  nature  they  are  not  so  unholy 
as  the  scriptures  represent ;  that  their  crimes  have 
been  few  and  venial.  But  then  God  by  a  forced 
conviction  will  shew  them  their  true  character  ;  will 
cause  them  to  feel  that  their  hearts  were  full  of  ini- 
quity, that  their  affections  were  totally  alienated  from 
him,  and  that  they  were  enemies  to  him  by  wicked 
works.  However  ingenious  they  now  are  in  blind- 
ing and  deceiving  themselves,  God  in  an  instant 
will  convince  them  of  their  deep  pollution,  and  their 
full  desert  of  hell.  The  flames  that  are  prepared  for 
the  ungodly  will  not  only  scorch,  but  enlighten  the 
impious,  and  teach  them  the  demerit  of  sin  and.the 
holiness  of  God ;  and  the  splendours  of  divine 
justice  and  purity  with  which  they  will  be  encom-^ 
passed,  will  make  them  shudder  at  their  character 
and  their  doom. 

But  it  is  necessary  for  the  vindication  of  the  jus. 
tice  of  God,  that  not  only  they,  but  also  the  specta- 
tors, have  this  conviction.  The  Judge  will  there- 
fore compel  them  to  confess  what  they  feel  in  their 
hearts,  and  openly  to  bewail  their  folly  in  continuing 
in  sin  and  despising  the  proffered  grace  of  God.  In 
the  agony  of  their  souls  they  shall  cry— "  Oh  that 
we  had  been  wise,  and  lived  in  the  believing  pros- 
pect of  this  awful  day !  Cursed  be  those  sins  in  which 

3C 


376  SERMON  XVIII. 

we  indulged,  and  for  which  we  sacrificed  our  God, 
our  Redeemer,  our  souls,  our  everlasting  felicity  ! 
Oh  that  we  could  cease  to  exist,  or  could  comfort 
ourselves  in  the  midst  of  the  flames  by  the  reflec- 
tion that  our  sufferings  were  undeserved,  and  in- 
flicted only  by  an  arbitrary  tyrant !  but  this  conso- 
lation is  denied  us  ;  for  we  feel,  we  confess,  that  our 
condemnation  will  be  just." 

Innumerable  witnesses  will  also  be  produced  to 
shew  the  guilt  of  the  unrighteous.  All  the  minis- 
ters of  the  Lord  Jesus,  who  once  pointed  them  to 
the  cross,  and  expostulated  with  them  on  the  folly 
and  madness  of  their  conduct,  and  told  them  of  the 
infinite  mercy  of  God  and  the  riches  of  grace  in  the 
Saviour,  and  exhibited  to  them  the  glories  of  hea- 
ven, the  pains  of  hell,  the  solemnities  of  judgment, 
and  prayed  and  wept  over  them — will  then  be  oblig 
ed  to  testify  that  they  wilfully  rejected  offered  mer- 
cy  and  everlasting  salvation. All  their   pious 

friends  and  relatives,  whose  hearts  they  so  deeply 
wounded  on  earth  by  their  forgetfulness  of  God  and 
their  eternal  destination,  will  then  lift  up  their  voices 
for  the  condemnation  of  those  to  whom  they  were 
once  so  tenderly  attached.  The  parent  will  testily 
against  that  ungrateful  child  whom  he  now  loves  as 
himself,  and  for  whose  neglect  of  his  pious  admo- 
nitions and  entreaties,  his  "  soul  now  weeps  in 
secret  places."  The  husband  will  testify  against 
that  wife  to  whom  he  is  united  by  the  tenderest  af  • 


SERMON  XVIII.  377 

fection,  who  shares  his  earthly  cares  and  joys,  but 
who  is  deaf  to  his  solicitations  to  form  ties  for 
eternity.  The  wife  shall  testify  against  that  thought- 
less husband,  who  disregards  her  gentle  but  warm 
and  heart-felt  supplications,  that  he  will  have 
mercy  on  his  soul.  In  one  word,  all  the  children 
of  God  will  be  compelled  to  bear  witness  against 
those  to  whom  they  were  connected  by  the  most 
tender  and  endearing  human  bonds,  but  who  per- 
sisted in  remaining  the  enemies  of  Jesus.- The 

persons  whom  they  have  injured  will  testify  against 
them.  The  blood  of  Abel  shall  still  cry  against 
Cain  ;  and  that  of  Naboth  against  Ahab.  Drusilla 
will  imprecate  the  divine  vengeance  against  Felix  ; 
and  the  unwary  who  have  been  seduced  by  the  con- 
versation or  the  writings  of  the  libertine  and  the  in- 
fidel, will  declare  their  guilt.  The  poor  whom 
they  have  suffered  to  perish,  the  afflicted  whom  they 
would  not  comfort,  the  persecuted  whom  they 
would  not  defend,  the  widow  and  the  orphan  whom 
they  would  not  console,  will  proclaim  these  ne- 
glected duties. -Even  inanimate  things  will  tes- 
tify against  them.  The  sacred  desks  where  the 
truths  of  religion  have  been  announced,  the  temples 
dedicated  to  the  Lord  in  which  they  heard  of  the 
dying  love  and  the  everlasting  righteousness  of  Je- 
sus, the  baptismal  founts  over  which  they  were  de- 
voted to  the  Sacred  Trinity,  the  sacramental  tables 
which  they  have  despised  or  profaned,  the  temporal 
enjoyments  which  they  have  abused  to  sin,  the  places 


378  SERMON  XVIII. 

where  their  iniquities  and  their  deeds  of  darkness 
were  committed — all  these  will  be  "  swift  witnes- 
ses against  them."— -The  angels  of  God  will  tes- 
tify against  them.  They  will  declare  that  these 
guilty  men  rejected  their  ministrations  and  gave 

themselves  up  to  the  controul  of  evil  spirits 

Satan,  who  now  tempts  them,  will  testify  against 
them  :  He  now  watches  them ;  he  seduces  them 
into  guilt,  and  he  will  well  remember  their  crimes, 
and  declare  them  then  with  a  malicious  joy.-— — . 
The  Spirit  of  God  will  testify  that  he  often  moved 
upon  their  hearts,  and  by  his  secret  suggestions  and 
influences  wooed  them  to  abandon  tneir  iniquities 
and  turn  to  the  Lord ;  but  that  they  grieved,  resist- 
ed, and  quenched  him,  and  chose  rather  to  comply 
with  the  temptations  pf  the  flevil  than  with  his  in- 
citements. 

Unhappy  men  !  what  will  you  do,  where  will  you 
hide  your  blushing  heads,  when  such  a  crowd  of 
witnesses  appear  against  you  ? — But  there  is  still 
another  witness :  it  is  your  Judge  himself;  who, 
opening  the  book  of  remembrance,  will  shew  to  you 
and  to  the  vast  assembly,  every  unholy  thought, 
every  irregular  desire,  every  criminal  motive,  every 
impure  wish,  every  unhallowed  design,  every  li- 
bertine, slanderous  or  blasphemous  word,  every 
mercy  that  was  abused,  every  judgment  that  was 
contemned,  every  duty  that  was  omitted,  every 
warning  that  was  despised,  every  sin  of  others  pro- 


SERMON  XVIII.         .         S79 

duced  by  your  conduct,  every  work  done  in  secret 
or  at  midnight,  and  seen  by  no  eye  but  that  of  God. 
Millions  of  crimes  which  had  never  been  observed, 
or  were  long  since  forgotten,  will  be  then  remem- 
bered, will  shew  the  deep  guilt  of  your  souls,  and 
the  terribleness  of  that  punishment  which  awaits 
you. — Unhappy  men !  thus  shall  you  stand,  in 
vain  "  calling  upon  the  rocks  and  the  mountains  to 
fall  upon  you  and  hide  you  from  the  wrath  of  the 
Lamb,"  the  injured,  insulted  Lamb  of  God.  The 
saints  will  view  you  as  the  enemies  of  their  Lord. 
Though  they  now  weep  over  you,  yet  they  then  will 
adore  the  just  judgments  of  God.  It  is  the  same 
Abraham  that  interceded  for  Sodom,  who  refuses 
to  listen  to  the  supplications  of  the  rich  man  in  the 
flames.  The  damned  will  regard  you  with  mali- 
cious triumph,  as  condemned  to  the  same  everlast- 
ing torments  with  them.  The  devils  who  now 
tempt  you  will  laugh  you  to  scorn  for  having  listen- 
ed to  their  delusions,  and  will  rejoice  as  the  fierce 
executioners  of  God's  wrath  forever  to  glut  their 
fury  upon  you.  Your  Judge  will  then  turn  upon 
you  his  eyes  burning  with  indignation,  and  pro- 
nounce upon  you  that  decisive  sentence — "  Depart 
from  me,  and  from  all  hope  of  future  joy  :  depart, 
bearing  the  curse  of  Him  who  shed  his  blood  to  re- 
deem you,  who  made  you  the  offer  of  salvation, 
and  importunately  besought  you  to  accept  it :  you 
have  despised  this  blood  and  scorned  this  offer ;  de- 
part then  into  everlasting  fire  prepared  for  the  devil 
and  his  angels," 


380  SERMON  XVIII. 

Sinners,  where  will  you  then  look  for  succour  ? 
Above  you,  will  be  the  God,  who  now  "  calls 
while  ye  refuse  ;  who  now  stretches  out  his  arms, 
while  ye  regard  not ;  but  who  then  will  laugh  at  your 
calamity,  and  mock  at  your  fear."  (Prov.  i.  24 — 26.) 
With  him  will  be  seated  those  saints  with  whom  you 
now  refuse  to  associate,  but  whom  you  shall  then 
behold  possessed  of  a  glory  and  felicity  from  which 
you  shall  be  eternally  excluded.  Around  you,  will 
be  none  but  the  sharers  of  your  guilt  and  the  par- 
takers of  your  punishment.  Below  you,  will  be 
only  the  dreadful  glare  of  the  flames  in  which  you 
must  forever  abide.  Within  you,  will  be  a  forced 
illumination  which  will  torture  you  by  compelling 
you  to  feel  that  your  condemnation  is  just,  that  you 
have  drawn  down  this  vengeance  upon  yourselves. 
Wherever  you  cast  your  eyes,  you  will  behold  noth- 
ing which  will  not  fill  you  with  horrour. 

Miserable  souls !  what  will  ye  do  ?  In  vain  will 
you  cry — "  Spare  us,  O  Lord ;  spare  us  for  a  little 
time  :  suffer  us  again  to  live  ;  again  to  pass  our 
period  of  trial ;  and  then  we  will  live  to  thee  and  re-^ 
nounce  the  world  and  sin."  Alas  !  these  supplica- 
tions will  be  useless  !  "  Remember,"  your  Judge 
will  reply,  "  remember  that  I  once  entreated  and 
wooed  you  by  motives  tender  as  my  dying  love, 
awful  as  eternity  ;  and  you  would  not  listen.  Tears, 
supplications,  prayers,  are  now  useless,  for  justice  is 
inexorable  :  depart  from  me,  ye  workers  of  iniqui 


SERMON  XVIII.  381 

ty."  The  sentence  is  fulfilled ;  heaven  vanishes 
from  their  eyes ;  hell  gapes  to  receive  them  ;  their 
shrieks  vibrate  on  the  ears  of  the  redeemed  as  they 
rise  with  their  Saviour  to  glory;  and  "  the  smoke 
of  their  torment  ascendeth  forever  and  ever." 

And  now,  my  brethren,  in  concluding  this  dis- 
course, let  us  seriously  enquire  if  we  are  prepared 
for  this  judgment-day  ?  If  the  last  trumpet  were 
this  moment  to  sound,  if  "  the  sign  of  the  Son  of 
man"  were  now  to  appear  in  the  heavens,  if  the 
angels  who  shall  attend  our  Judge  were  now  to  dis- 
play themselves  to  us,  tell  me,  or  rather  answer  to 
your  own  consciences,  what  would  be  your  emo- 
tions ?  Would  this  sacred  place  resound  with  that 
cry  of  joy — "  Let  us  go  out  to  meet  our  Saviour ;" 
or  should  we  not  rather  hear  that  agonizing  excla- 
mation,— "  Whither  shall  we  go  from  his  presence? 
Whither  shall  we  flee  from  his  vengeance  ?  Moun- 
tains and  rocks,  fall  upon  us,  and  hide  us  from  the 
wrath  of  the  Lamb." 

Oh !  let  us  in  time  secure  an  acquittal  in  this 
"  great  day  for  which  all  other  days  were  made." 
By  embracing  the  salvation  offered  through  the 
atonement  of  Jesus,  by  the  cultivation  of  every 
grace,  and  the  practice  of  every  virtue,  let  us  pre- 
pare to  appear  before  the  judgment  bar  with  con- 
fidence. Let  us  keep  the  remembrance  of  these 
awful  scenes  which  we  are  to  behold,  ever  fresh 


382  SERMON  XVIII. 

upon  our  hearts.  This  remembrance  will  power- 
fully deter  us  from  sin,  stimulate  us  to  the  dis- 
charge of  duty,  elevate  us  above  the  world,  cause  us 
to  avoid  all  dissimulation  and  deceit,  and  induce  us 
thoroughly  to  search  our  hearts  and  to  try  the  foun- 
dation of  our  hopes. 

t  Impenitent  men,  we  weep  when  we  look  on  you, 
and  see  you  abusing  the  patience  and  long-suffering 
of  God,  as  encouragements  to  persevere  in  guilt. 
The  divine  forbearance  will  not  forever  endure. 
Think,  solemnly  think,  of  that  tremendous  day,  when 
if  you  remain  in  your  present  condition,  you  shall 
hear  a  sentence  of  perdition  from  the  lips  of  the 
compassionate  Saviour,  and  be  blasted  to  the  abyss 
by  the  thunders  which  issue  from  his  throne. 

Blessed  be  God,  it  is  not  yet  too  late  for  you  to 
avoid  this  fearful  destiny — Your  life  is  still  preserv- 
ed— mercy  is  still  proffered  to  you.  Flee  then  to 
the  great  Redeemer,  who  is  still  waiting  to  be  gra- 
cious unto  you  ;  to  the  fountain  of  his  blood,  to  the 
throne  of  his  grace.  He  still  extends  his  arms  to 
embrace  you — he  still  entreats,  beseeches,  impor- 
tunes you  to  turn  and  live  ;  he  still  gives  you  his 
promises  to  allure  you  ;  his  ministers  to  call  you  ; 
his  Spirit  to  excite  you  :  he  still  stands  before  the 
throne  of  the  Eternal  Father,  presenting  to  him  the 
sacrifice  of  Calvary,  and  interceding  for  you  :  he 
still  cries  unto  you,  "  Why,  why  will  ye  die." 


SERMON  XVIII.  383 

Can  you  resist  longer  these  condescending  exhor- 
tations, intreaties,  importunities  of  the  Son  of  God? 
I  beseech  you  no  longer  to  refuse  admission  to  the 
Saviour  thus  standing  and  knocking  at  the  door  of 
your  hearts.     He  offers  himself  to  you  as  your  re- 
deemer and  portion  ;  receive  the  divine  offer  hum- 
bly, thankfully,  joyfully.     I  adjure  you  thus  to  act : 
I  adjure  you  by  the  love  and  terrors  of  the  Lord  ; 
by  the  solemnities  of  the  day  of  judgment ;  by  a, 
regard  to  the  eternal  destinations  of  your  souls. 
Flee  to  the  blood  of  Jesus  for  the  remission  of  your 
iniquities  ;  to  the  righteousness  of  Jesus  for  the  jus- 
tification of  your  persons ;  to  the  grace  of  Jesus  for 
power  to  resist  sin;  to  the  blessed  Spirit  of  Jesus 
as  a  fountain  of  holiness  and  hap  piness.     Thus  shall 
your  life  be  peace,  your  eternity  joy  :    you  shall 
appear  without  dismay  at  his  bar,  and  be  admitted 
by  him  to  that  kingdom  of  glory  where  you  shall 
sing,  with  the  heavenly  host,  "  Blessing,  and  hon- 
our, and  glory,  and  power,  be  unto  him  that  sitteth 
upon  the  throne,  and  unto  the  Lamb  for  ever  and 
ever,'* 


FW& 


4 


v 


w 


*x$* 


IM 


